Antique Neoclassical Bronze Portrait Of A Nude Woman, "modest Venus" With Two Shells, By Coysevox, 19th Century

A beautiful antique bronze sculpture with a brown patina depicting the Crouching Venus, also known as the Modest Venus or Venus at Her Bath, based on the famous model by Antoine Coysevox (1640–1720).

The goddess is depicted nude, crouching in a modest pose, her head turned to the side, one arm drawn across her chest and the other resting on her thigh. The composition is distinguished by the elegance of the movement, the supple modeling of the body, and the meticulous rendering of the hairstyle, whose strands are rendered through deep chiseling with beautiful reliefs gilded by the patina’s wear.

The model is based on the crouching Venus created by Coysevox in 1686 for Versailles, which was itself inspired by an ancient prototype. Coysevox’s work is now housed at the Louvre under catalog number MR 1826. Early bronze reductions of this composition are known to exist, notably in the Wallace Collection and the Dresden collection.

Our example, however, features an interesting iconographic variation: the figure rests on scallop shells, and notably, a second shell is placed freely at the front of the composition. This was certainly a special and unique commission, as it has not been seen to date. In the examples and smaller versions of this model found in databases, this second scallop shell placed in front of Venus never appears. It is therefore a relatively uncommon variation of the model. The cataloged versions may also feature other attributes, notably a tortoise.

Bronze with a nuanced brown patina, showing slight wear that reveals golden tones on the reliefs, particularly in the hair, the nose, and certain protruding areas. Antique hollow casting.

Period: 19th century, first half

Dimensions: 39 x 22 x 17 cm.

Condition: good overall condition. Some wear and small, old marks. Beautiful brown patina. See numerous detailed photographs.