Allegory of Victory, Early 19th century

This allegory of Victory takes the form of a young winged woman holding the traditional palm in her left hand. Dressed and coiffed in Empire style, she is standing on a pile of weapons next to a lion standing on its hind legs bearing the arms of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Created at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, this buffer state comprised the former territories of the United Provinces (now the Netherlands), the territories of the former Southern Netherlands (now Belgium) and the Dutch colonies.
The free treatment of the clay here identifies our sculpture as a sketch, probably made for a project to erect a monument to Victory, such as one of the many celebrating the Victory of Waterloo.
The style is reminiscent of that of the great Flemish sculptor Godecharles, who executed numerous sculptures for the Governor of the Netherlands and then for the King in the years 1815-1817.