L'éloquence ou Vénus à la Tortue

Eloquence or Venus with a Tortoise
Bronze figure of a standing nude woman
standing naked, a drape on her left side
held by a belt and falling to her feet.
Her right foot rests on a turtle.
In her right hand, she holds a scroll
of parchment.
Northern Italy, 16th century.
Height: 23 cm
(Wear, minor dents, mounted on a blackened
wood base)

PROVENANCE
- Nicolas de Hurtado Collection (1854 - 1920)
- Probably stolen on December 21, 1937 and
returned to the family on the 23rd to the widow
of the previous owner née Amparo, baronne Beyens
(1859 - 1946)
- Still in the family to this day.

This rare iconography is probably an allegory
allegory of Eloquence, as suggested by the document
the document she holds and the turtle she triumphs over.
triumph| it could also evoke the earthly emergence
of the goddess Venus and her marine birth
as represented by Phidias himself
on the pedestal of Olympia's Zeus.