The sculpted head of Aphrodite was donated to USC by the Dart family after the passing of Justin W. Dart, a University Trustee, and his wife Jane.[1] According to the research of Dr. John Pollini, USC Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology, this head was part of a full-body statue of the Arles Aphrodite type. The most famous, complete sculpture of this kind is the Venus of Arles located in the Louvre Museum. Arles Aphrodite-type statues are replicas of an original, lost Greek sculpture, potentially of the work of Praxiteles in the 4th century BC.[2] Though several of these replicas remain, all but two are headless. Outside of the Louvre, the only other place to see an original Arles Aphrodite head is on the USC campus, making our Dart Aphrodite exceptionally rare.[3] This Greco-Roman sculpture, from ca. 100 BC-100 CE, can be seen on the second floor of the Ronald Tutor Campus Center.
References:
[1] John Pollini, “Dart Aphrodite’ Comes to USC,” USC Dornsife News, 22 April 2011.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
Dart Aphrodite
