Sfera

This feminine figure majestically walks with her left leg in front and the right one flexed and back. A light Chiton falls to the woman’s ankles and adheres to her breasts and legs, contouring her curves. Meanwhile, a mantel is wrapped around the central part of her body. Originally, it was supposed to appear lifted above her head, blown by the wind. The statue represents the embodiment of sea breeze -a subject that was frequently used in ancient Greece to decorate temples, especially on the acroterion statues, which usually adorned the top of the pediments. It is assumed that it is precisely an acroterion figure which was held as a role model for our statue, along with other Roman replicas -of which the majority were made in Pentelic marble and can  be dated back to the 1st century AD. However, the original prototype can be found in Greece and is most likely done by the hands of an Attic sculptor who, influenced by Fidia, operated in the final decades of the 5th century BC. With regards to the sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Parthenon, the famous sculptor from Athens experimented innovative plastic solutions in order to render the movements of the draperies and the lightness of the clothing into the marble. The fabric wraps around the female curves and enhances them, almost as if it were wet. For the first time in the history of ancient art, the female curves are shown with their realistic nature. The statue of Aura, even though it is a Roman replica of later centuries, witnesses the grand artistic and cultural period that occurred in Athens in the 5th century BC; right after the victory against the Persians, and especially during the governing of Pericles.

Restoration Process Includes:

• Scientific analysis and check of the inside structure of the statue
• Overall cleaning
• Removal of old restorations
• Replacing of iron nails with stainless-steel and carbon fiber elements where needed
• Photographic documentation of the state of preservation