A LARGE LATE 19TH CENTURY ITALIAN CARRARA MARBLE FIGURE OF THE CROUCHING VENUS the nude goddess seated on an upturned urn issuing water, raised on an octagonal plinth, N.B. the figure of the Crouching Venus originates from a Hellenistic model in the 3rd BC, believed to be a copy of a statue by Doidalsas of Bythania, which was produced multiple times during the Roman period. Variants of Venus in this pose are held at the Uffizi, Florence, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, at the Louvre in Paris and within the Royal Collection, to name but a few. The figure itself is thought to represent Venus emerging from her bath, or to be a symbolic rendering of the Goddess after birth. She continued to strike a popular pose during the 19th century, when young Grand Tourists took to Italy to explore classical architecture, sculpture and art. 89cm high