Image Details

Collection: The J. Paul Getty Museum

The “Aphrodite of Malibu”—that is what many call this 7-foot-high, fifth-century B.C. marble sculpture of a goddess (who may actually be Demeter), which now resides in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, California. The statue’s draped limestone figure has been re-assembled from numerous fragments (only the hair and veil are missing) and is the only extant cult image from the classical period that is preserved from head to foot. Although Italian authorities claim that the statue was illegally excavated from an ancient Greek colony in Morgantina, Sicily, and thus demand that the Getty return the statue to Italy, they have not been able to produce any credible evidence to substantiate their claim.