Allegory Of The Force In The Guise Of An Oak Minerva - France, Circa 1600

This beautiful figure in carved wood gives to contemplate under the guise of Minerva, the ancient goddess of wisdom and military strategy, an allegory of the Force. Indeed, if the helmet capped with a griffin and the shield evokes the attributes of the goddess, a bundle of arrows replace her traditional spear here. In classical iconology, the bundle of arrows gives substance to the idea of collective force. Still marked by the sinuous line and the generous canons of mannerism, our sculpture can be dated around 1600. Its typology and its format allow us to consider its integration in the past within a furniture decoration.