Signed Joseph Claus Fecit Anno 1767, 85cm and 87cm high.
The Callipygian Venus, meaning the Venus of the beautiful buttocks, is one of many copies of an Ancient Roman statue of the 1st Century B.C. by an unknown hand.
The 1763 Burghley Inventory records: ‘the drawing room, 3’d George room……Two White Marble Statues, & Head of Medusa in White Marble on the Chimney.’
This arrangement remains the same today.
The 1804 Burghley Inventory is slightly more specific: ‘No. 54, 3rd George room, Ornaments, a small statuary Apollo & Venus.’
