A HELLENISTIC MARBLE TORSO OF APHRODITE c. 1ST CENTURY BC

sensitively modelled of graceful form, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty exquisitely rendered standing with the weight on her right leg with the right arm raised 

Acquired in Paris, prior to 1951.
Collection of William Welles Bosworth (1868-1966), Villa Marietta, Vaucresson, Hauts-de-Seine, France, and thence by descent to a private collection, Spain.
Rouillac, Cheverny, 9th June 2013, lot 122.
Sotheby's New York, 12th December 2013, lot 35. 

As shown, the torso is slightly weathered, and the back has a fine crackle visible in the catalogue illustration (p. 48).
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The wood stand bears the stamp of Japanese wood artist Kichizô Inagaki (1876-1951). His bases are celebrated as works of art for their own sake because each is created to fit its sculpture perfectly, sculpture and base ultimately unifying as a cohesive object. Beyond bearing the mark of such a distinguished woodworker (literally stamped with his artist name, 'Yoshio'), works mounted on bases by Inagaki share the provenance of having been on the Parisian art market between 1911 and 1951. While working for Joseph Brummer, Inagaki made prestigious connections among key dealers, collectors, and avant-garde artists in early 20th century Paris and thereby gained his greatest commissions. Auguste Rodin, for example, put Inagaki in charge of creating bases for his entire collection of antiquities in 1912. Inagaki also worked closely with dealers Dikran Khan Kelekian, Charles Ratton, and Paul Guillaume, creating bases for the majority of Albert Barnes’s sculptures.

William Welles Bosworth, known as the personal architect of John D. Rockefeller Jr, was responsible for much of the architecture at Rockefeller's Kykuit estate, as well as MIT's campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Despite these and other high-profile designs, Bosworth was better known in France, where he was one of the few Americans ever to receive the Legion of Honor and the French Cross of the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters for his restoration of Versailles and Notre-Dame de Reims, both funded by Rockefeller.

As these projects ended in 1936, Bosworth began work on the Villa Marietta in Vaucresson, remaining in France with his family and eventually becoming an associate member of the École des Beaux-Arts, where he had received his architectural training early in his career.

Aphrodite is primarily worshipped as the Greek Goddess of Love, Beauty, Pleasure and Eternal Youth but she was also worshipped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; as well as as a goddess of war. As is the case with many Greek deities, there is more than one version of the legend of Aphrodite's birth. The Greek word aphros means 'foam', and according to Hesiod's Theogony, she arose from the sea foam produced by the severed genitals of Uranus (Heaven), after his son Cronus threw them into the sea.