| The Winged Victory of Samothrace The Winged Nike The Nike of Samothrace Victoire de Samothrace | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year | c. 200–190 BC[1] 2223–2224 years ago |
| Type | Parian marble |
| Dimensions | 244 cm (96 in) |
| Location | Louvre, Paris |
The Winged Victory of Samothrace, or the Niké of Samothrace,[2] is a votive monument originally discovered on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beginning of the 2nd century BC (190 BC). It is composed of a statue representing the goddess Niké (Victory), whose head and arms are missing and its base is in the shape of a ship's bow.
The total height of the monument is 5.57 metres (18 ft 3 in) including the socle; the statue alone measures 2.75 metres (9 ft 0 in). The sculpture is one of a small number of major Hellenistic statues surviving in the original, rather than Roman copies.
Winged Victory has been exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris, at the top of the main staircase, since 1884.[3] Greece is seeking the return of the sculpture.[4]
- ^ Janson, H.W. (1995)History of Art. 5th edn. Revised and expanded by Anthony F. Janson. London: Thames & Hudson, pp. 157–158. ISBN 0500237018
- ^ In Greek the statue is called the Níki tis Samothrákis (Νίκη της Σαμοθράκης) and in French la Victoire de Samothrace. There are two further statues of Winged Victory of a different type found in the Samothrace temple complex, originally having adorned the roof of one of the temples: a Roman copy found by a team of Austrian archaeologists, now at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and a third Winged Victory found by Phyllis Williams Lehmann in 1949, now in a museum at the Samothrace site.
- ^ inv. no. MA 2369
- ^ Arkouli, Maria (2013-08-30). "Greece Wants Victory of Samothrace Back". GreekReporter.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2023-02-22.