Lot Essay
The present pair of figures represent the different aspects of Minerva/Athene, one of the major deities of ancient Greece and Rome. In Greek mythology, Athene was the daughter of Zeus and sprang fully armed from his head. In her early form she appears as a war goddess, fighting for the defence of just causes, hence the armour and weapons, such as the shield bearing the serpent-haired head of Medusa, given to her by Perseus, of whom she was a guardian, after he had slain the Gorgon. A patroness of many household crafts, especially spinning and weaving, it was, however, as goddess of wisdom that Minerva/Athene was worshipped by the Greeks and Romans and depicted in the art of the Renaissance and later. In this role, her owl, sacred to her in antiquity, is perched near her, or, as we see it here, surmounts her helmet. She also holds an olive branch, a further symbol of wisdom.