Goddess of the Via Traiana

Among the most precious small bronzes of the Renaissance are those of Pier Jacopo Alari-Bonacolsi, sculptor at the court of Mantua, who called himself Antico to reflect his passion for classical art. The artist generally heightened the exquisite character of his pieces by partial gilding. This too is a feature of the Goddess of the Via Traiana, a figure crafted in his circle and perhaps even based on a model made by Antico himself. The composition, showing the goddess holding a wheel as an attribute, can be seen on coins from the reign of the Emperor Trajan. This figure, of which no other version exists, is probably the statuette recorded in Duke Federigo Gonzaga’s inventory of 1542 as a “figura piccola di metale che sede cum una rota in mano” (“small sitting figure made of metal with a wheel in her hand”).