A pentelic marble Roman copy of a Greek original made of bronze, the statue of the type known as Hera Borghese was found in 1923-1924 among the remains of the sunken palaces in Baia.
The original sculpture, dated to the last quarter of the V century B.C., was made by Agoracritus, a disciple of Phidias, or by Polykleitos. It depicts the goddess Hera (though some scholars argue that it may be Aphrodite or Hygeia), covered with a fine and transparent robe, and is today deprived of the head and the right arm. At the height of the left elbow, signs of a clumsy ancient repair may be found.
In the replica made in Baiae there is an element of great interest: the signature of Aphrodisios Athenaios, probably a Greek artist from Attica who founded one of the first workshops in Baiae, probably during the Augustan age.
The statue does not show signs of biological degradation.
Maniscalco, F. 1995, ‘Un ninfeo severiano nelle acque del porto di Baia’, Ostraka, 4(2), p. 268.
Maniscalco, F. 1997, Ninfei ed edifici marittimi severiani del Palatium imperiale di Baia. Napoli: Massa Editore, p. 56.
Napoli, M. 1953 ‘Di una villa marittima di Baia’, Bollettino di Storia dell’Arte. Istituto Universitario di Magistero, Salerno, III(1), p. 80.
Valeri, C. 2005, Marmora phlegraea. Sculture dal Rione Terra di Pozzuoli, Roma: L’Erma di Bretschneider, p. 100
Zevi F. (cur.) 2009, Museo archeologico dei Campi Flegrei. Castello di Baia. Napoli: Electa Napoli, vol. 3, p. 126