A splendid marble head has been found at Ostia Antica during some routine maintenance work on post-classical storage facilities.
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| Credit: Roma-Repubblica |
“It may be a copy of the Bathing or Crouching Aphrodite by Doidalsas, or it could be one of the muses,” say archaeologists Mariarosaria Barbera and Cinzia Morelli, after an initial evaluation of the sculpture.
The Bathing Aphrodite is the most famous work of the Greek sculptor Doidalsas of Bithynia, who lived in the third century BC.
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| Credit: Roma-Repubblica |
It is believed that Doidalsas was a member of the school of Lyssipos and the official sculptor of the court of the king of Bithynia Nikomedes I (279-255 BC).
Apparently, Nikomedes I commissioned Doidalsas to make the statue because he could not acquire Aphrodite of Knidos, which he wanted very much.
The transfer of the statue to Rome determined its fame, because it was often copied to decorate gardens and baths.
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