Allegory of Virtus or Roma
Chromolithograph, Late 19th C.
Chromolithograph, Late 19th C.
This item is sold. It has been placed here in our online archives as a service for researchers and collectors.
- Please inquire as to the availability of similar items currently in stock, or use the navigation bar above to browse our site for currently available items.
- Find guidelines for the use of images from georgeglazer.com.
- To see more archived items, view our directory.
- Find information about selling your art and antiques.
Allegory of Virtus or Roma
Continental: Late 19th century
Chromolithograph
17.25 x 12.25 inches
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.
Allegory of Virtus, the Roman personnification of valor in battle, who was frequently rendered on ancient Roman coins. Her traditional attributes include armor, a spear, shield, and a carved cult statue called a "Victoriola." The Victoriola portrayed a figure representing victory, often with wings spread or standing on a globe holding a wreath and palm branch, which symbolized the power and majesty conferred on a Roman emperor by victory in battle. In this 19th-century version, she is personified by a heroic female warrior figure in a flowing classical costume with cape, her head turned in profile and crowned in laurels, her left hand grasping a shield. Instead of the Victoriola, one hand holds a scepter resting on a large globe, and at her feet are books and rolled documents. She is in a classical arched passageway to the outdoors, flanked by columns decorated with acanthus and supported by corbels. A variant of Virtus was Roma, who personified the city of Rome. This could also have been intended to represent her.
References:
"The Empire of Palmyra." http://www.dcatalog.de/mm92/00263h00.htm (27 March 2003).
"Virtus." Studying and Collecting the Coins of Rome and Her Cities. http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/rcoins/sub1/art41.htm (27 March 2003).