Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty; for whom the Roman equivalent was Venus. She is shown here with wavy hair (appropriate, since she sprang from the sea), parted in the middle, bound by a diadem, and gathered in a knot at the back. This head is possibly a copy of Hellenistic date (323 BC–146 BC) of an original by the great Greek sculptor Praxiteles (about 400 BC–330 BC). It once belonged to John Edward Taylor (1791–1844), founder of the (Manchester) Guardian newspaper.