Minerva Candlestick In Gilt Bronze - Venice, XVIIth Century

This gilded bronze candlestick represents the goddess Athena (Minerva in Latin). She can be identified by her helmet crowned with a sphinx and adorned with two vultures, in every way similar to that once visible on the famous chryselephantine representation of the goddess housed in the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens. The face which adorns the visor of the helmet could be that of Zeus, of which Athena emerged from the skull fully armed. The goddess is often associated with light. In ancient literature, it manifests itself in battles by the brilliance of its bronze weapons and the light that emerges from them. The dark gaze of the "pers-eyes Goddess" is often compared to bronze or night. Divinity of wisdom, it is here naturally that she carries the light. This bronze comes from a model datable from the end of the 17th century not listed to this day. The quality of the carving of the brocade of Athena's mantle is remarkable and gives our bronze an incredible splendor.
Old red marble plinth.
Without base: H. 20, 5
???????With base: H. 23.5 cm.