Statue of Aphrodite in a Crouching Position, with a Dolphin

The goddess is depicted naked and croaching while Eros, behind her, is lifting a cloth to dry her off. The ancient ritual of the bath is recalled both by the position of her body and her gesture of covering her breast with her arm. The work, a ROman copy of a bronze original by the sculptor Doidalsas, was commissioned in the 3nd century B.C by King Nicomedes of Bithynia in Asia Minor and it is also known from depictions on Roman coins issued in the same area.该作品描绘女神赤裸身体呈蹲伏姿态，其身后的厄洛斯（Eros）正举起布巾为其擦拭身体。女神的身体姿态与以手臂遮掩胸部的动作，均呼应了古代沐浴仪式的场景。此作为雕塑家多伊达尔萨斯（Doidalsas）青铜原作的罗马复制品，由小亚细亚地区的比提尼亚国王尼科米底斯于公元前3世纪委托制作；同时，在该地区发行的罗马钱币纹饰中，也可见该作品的形象。