Venus de Milo

A plaster copy of the original Venus de Milo, which was discovered in 1820. It is unknown who sculpted the original or who it was intended to depict, but it was created in the Cyclades around 100 BC. The most common theory is that the statue represents either Aphrodite or Amphitrite. She would originally have been wearing metal bracelets, earrings and a headband but like her marble arms, these are now lost.

This copy was purchased by the University College of Wales' art department in the 1920s, originally intended to aid the teaching of drawing.