Collection Highlights

The ancient Roman goddess Victory was not a vanquisher of victims but a provider of triumphs. The ancient historian Cassius Dio recorded that when Octavian (later the emperor Augustus) returned to Rome in 29 BC after conquering Egypt, "he erected a statue of Victory ... to show that it was from this goddess that he had received the empire." This dramatic bronze statuette depicts a winged Victory descending to earth, as we can imagine Octavian's statue must have, carrying the horn of plenty to her chosen beneficiary. Her drapery swirls, baring strong legs, and her sleeveless dress, or chiton, reveals powerful arms.

Statuettes of Victory often trimmed the hands of gigantic statues of Zeus, Athena, Ceres, and other divinities; and they sometimes adorned elaborate furniture or chariots. The Cleveland Victory relates to a group of bronze statuettes in The J. Paul Getty Museum in California, all of which probably come from the same monument. One bears the portraits of two men, whose distinctive hairstyles date the group to the reign of either Claudius or Nero.

A bronze's patina, usually green or blue-green, develops after long exposure to the elements in soil, water, or air. The golden-olive patina of the Cleveland Victory is exceptional.

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Fund. 1984.25