BRONZE? NUDE w/FISH ON HER SIDE A STATUE OR CAME OFF OF SOMETHING ELSE?

I found this a while back & I assume it's bronze; it has the feel and the weight. But, the bottom looks like it was part of something else or it is a poorly/cheaply made statue.
Can I call this a statue? Is it a bronze?
If it is it should be valuable, right? But what do I say about the bottom being the way it is? What is it/why is it like this?

 

normally this would be called statuette here on the continent. statue comes nearer to real-life size. it is bronze but probably aged by chemical means. can't tell you if it had a base originally.

 

Venus caught with a fish
Shame has a significant role in the creation of many artefacts concerning sex with fish from the classical period.



In this coy Roman nude (veined Marble, 100-130BC, Apulia) in the Ashmolean Museum, we see Venus attempting to cover her nudity after being surprised in the act of sex with a fish. The fish has been represented as a dolphin, probably in deference to the prevailing morality. Dolphins were considered by many Romans, particularly those in the southern provinces, as people who had been chosen by Posiedon for sacred duties.

Consequently, what was commonly known as ‘riding the dolphin’, in which women might take advantage of an aroused captive male dolphin, was not such a source of embarrassment as it may be in modern society. In practice, however, this was rarely done. Dolphins were difficult to keep in captivity and to be responsible for the death of one would draw the wrath of Posiedon. No such consequences were attached to sex with fish, just a certain sniggering stigma. Hence the replacement of the fish in this particular statue: a residual shame still clings to the penitent Venus.

For an immortal, it would be perfectly acceptable to claim that one had, once again, fallen victim to the shape-shifting subterfuges of Jupiter who, as well as adopting the forms of bulls, swans, golden showers and the like, could presumably have his way with an unsuspecting goddess in the form of a fish or a dolphin.

 

See "Venus de medici" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_de'_Medici
Based on a well-known Greek statue; I suspect yours might originally have been mounted on a marble or wood base.

 

Less titillating but more artistically informative. AF just got in with what I was saying. May have had a base; may have been on a clock. Another amusing anecdote here. And, yes, bronze.

And, to be clear, it's a dolphin.

 

That's a dolphin?! I thought it might be a carp - ie oriental, but the lady didn't match!

 

komowa - she does have a 'caught with your hand in the cookie jar' look on her face!
PS - I never(!) heard of the sex with fish lore!

 

Not a real dolphin, but a standard classical representation of a dolphin; in this case, symbolizing her connection with the sea.

 

"Jupiter who, as well as adopting the forms of bulls, swans, golden showers and the like, could presumably have his way with an unsuspecting goddess in the form of a fish or a dolphin."

What a colourless selection of gods we have nowadays! How much better it would be if any unexpected pregnancy could be adequately explained by saying "Jesus appeared to me and made me his Bride"
So much more effective than appearing on a slice of toasted cheese.

 

the origins of fish and chips ?