Statue of Giustiniani Type Athena, Formerly Carpi Collection

The majestic statue portrays Athena, recognizable by her typical attributes: the Corinthian helmet, the shield and the aegis with a central gorgoneion and snakes decorating the edge. The goddess is dressed in a chiton that reaches up to her feet, with sandals. On her left shoulder rests the himation that wraps the lower part of her body. In her right hand, restored like the forearm, she was originally supposed to hold a spear. Athena is flanked by a trunk which is encircled by a snake. In the background appear olive branches and the owl, a sacred animal to the goddess. The latter was restored, as were the olive branches, the head of the goddess, the left hand with the front part of the shield, her forearm and right hand. In particular, the head is a copy of the one of the famous Athena Giustiniani, preserved today in the Vatican Museums. The Athena Torlonia as a whole is a valuable replica of the Athena Giustiniani, with the only addition of the olive trunk with an owl and can be dated to the Antoninian age.

Inventory: MT 298

Material: White marble

Technique: Work sculpted through the use of: chisels (also square-tipped and toothed) rasps

Dating: Imperial age

Origin: Fomerly at Palazzo Varese; transferred to the Lungara Museum by 1876.