A () is a car or

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&n ...

drawn by four

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s abreast and favoured for

chariot racing Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games fro ...

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

and the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

until the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Ren ...

. The word derives from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

contraction of , from ': four, and ': yoke. The four-horse abreast arrangement in quadriga is distinct from the more common four-in-hand array of two horses in the front and two horses in the back. Quadriga was raced in the

Ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες; la, Olympia, neuter plural: "the Olympics") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece ...

and other contests. It is represented in profile as the chariot of

gods and heroes ''Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising'' (abbreviated as G&H or GnH) was a massively multiplayer online role-playing video game developed by Heatwave Interactive and released in 2011 for Microsoft Windows. The game was set in Ancient Rome, and combined ...

Greek vase Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...

s and in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

. During the festival of the Halieia, the ancient

Rhodians Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the Sou ...

would sacrifice a quadriga by throwing it into the sea. The quadriga was adopted in

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

. Quadrigas were emblems of triumph;

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

or Fame often are depicted as the triumphant woman driving it. In

classical mythology Classical mythology, Greco-Roman mythology, or Greek and Roman mythology is both the body of and the study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans as they are used or transformed by cultural reception. Along with philosophy and poli ...

, the quadriga is the chariot of the gods; the

god of the sun A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

Helios In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

(often identified with

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, the god of light) was depicted driving his quadriga across the heavens, delivering daylight and dispersing the night. The word ' may refer to the chariot alone, the four horses without it, or the combination. Rilievo da monumento onorario di Marco Aurelio trionfo, 176-180

Rilievo da monumento onorario di Marco Aurelio trionfo, 176-180

Classical sculpture

BnF MS Gr510 folio 69 verso - detail - Triumph of Joseph

Modern sculptural quadrigas are based on the four bronze

Horses of Saint Mark The Horses of Saint Mark ( it, Cavalli di San Marco), also known as the Triumphal Quadriga or Horses of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, is a set of bronze statues of four horses, originally part of a monument depicting a quadriga (a four-hors ...

or the "Triumphal Quadriga", a set of equine Roman or Greek sculptures, the only representation of a quadriga to survive from the classical world, and the pattern for all that follow. Their age is disputed. Originally erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, possibly on a

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cr ...

, they are now in

St Mark's Basilica The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Pa ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. Venetian

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

looted these sculptures in the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

(which dates them to at least 1204) and placed them on the terrace of

. In 1797,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

carried the quadriga off to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, but, after Napoleon's fall, in 1815, the horses were returned to Venice by Louis XVIII, King of France. The legitimate king did not want to be the illegitimate owner of a treasure. Due to the effects of atmospheric pollution, the original quadriga was retired to a museum and replaced with a replica in the 1980s. ''Quadrigae'' also appear on the

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

of the Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Dougga, which dates to the 2nd century BC. File:Ilion---metopa.jpg, Helios in his chariot, early 4th century BC,

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

's temple, Ilion File:Lucanian fresco tomb painting depicting a quadriga, 340-330 BC, Paestum Archaeological Museum (14416577639).jpg,

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttiu ...

n fresco from Paestum depicting a quadriga, 340-330 BC ( Paestum Archaeological Museum) File:Paestum Quadriga1.JPG, A

n fresco from Paestum depicting a quadriga, 4th century BC File:Detail of Mausolée libyco-punique.jpg, Frieze on the 2nd-century BC Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Dougga File:Bulla d'oro con tinia, giove e minerva su quadriga alata, da vulci, 350 ac ca. 02.JPG,

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...

and

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...

riding a ''quadriga'' drawn by ''pegasi'' on a 4th-century BC gold Etruscan ''

bulla Bulla (Latin, 'bubble') may refer to: Science and medicine * Bulla (dermatology), a bulla * Bulla, a focal lung pneumatosis, an air pocket in the lung * Auditory bulla, a hollow bony structure on the skull enclosing the ear * Ethmoid bulla, pa ...

'' (

Museo Gregoriano Etrusco The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several o ...

) File:Bodh Gaya quadriga relief.jpg, Relief of a quadriga of sun-god

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a ...

Bodh Gaya Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( ...

, India File:0458 - Roma, Museo d. civiltà romana - Sarcofago Mattei Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 12-Apr-2008.jpg,

as the sun god; cast of the "''sarcofago matti''" (c. 220 AD) (

Museum of Roman Civilization The Museum of the Roman Civilization (Italian: ''Museo della Civiltà Romana'') is a museum in Rome (Esposizione Universale Roma district), devoted to aspects of the Ancient Roman Civilization. The museum has been closed for renovation since 201 ...

) File:8721 - Roma, museo civiltà Romana - Sarcofago di Stilicone - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 12-Apr-2008.jpg, Detail from a

plaster cast A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a pregnant belly, a fossil or other remains such as fresh or fossilised footprints – ...

of the late 4th-century so-called Sarcophagus of Stilicho (

) File:Echiquier de Charlemagne quadrige=tour CdM.jpg, 11th-century rook from Southern Italy in the form of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

in a ''quadriga'', from the

Charlemagne chessmen The Charlemagne chessmen are a group of 11th century chess pieces made from ivory, now in the Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, France. In 1598 the set contained 30 pieces, but after the French Revolution only 16 pieces ...

( Cabinet des Médailles).

Variations

Though ''quadrigae'' were usually drawn by horses, occasionally, other animals or mythological creatures were employed in spectacles and in art. Elephants were sometimes used to draw ''quadrigae'' in the Roman imperial period, and more frequently elephant ''quadrigae'' were depicted on coins and other official images. In art and sculpture, ''quadrigae'' ridden in by the gods were appropriate to their characters; Neptune's ''quadriga'' was drawn, for example, by hippocampi (mythological sea-horses). File:Bardo(js)052.jpg, The triumph of

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...

and

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

in a ''quadriga'' drawn by ''hippocampi'' in a mosaic from Utica in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

( Bardo National Museum) File:Venus sur un char tiré par des élpéhants - Pompéi - Atelier des Feutriers.jpg,

riding in a ''quadriga'' drawn by elephants,1st-century AD fresco from

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was burie ...

File:Medaglione di diocleziano e massimiano ercole, oro, con quadriga di elefanti, soldati e vittoria.JPG, Medallion of the co-''augusti''

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

and

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was '' Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

() riding in a ''quadriga'' drawn by elephants and crowned by

File:9595 - Milano - Museo archeologico - Patera di Parabiago - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 13 Mar 2012.jpg, Cybele and Attis riding on a ''quadriga'' drawn by lions on the 4th-century

Parabiago plate The Parabiago plate, also known as the Parabiago patera, is an ancient Roman circular silver plate depicting mythological figures. It was found in an ancient Roman cemetery at Parabiago, near Milan, in 1907. The plate depicts Cybele with her c ...

. (

Archaeological Museum of Milan The Archaeological Museum of Milan (''Civico Museo Archeologico di Milano'' in Italian) is located in the ex-convent of the Monastero Maggiore, alongside the ancient church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, with entrance on Corso Magenta. ...

) File:Sculpture Kurfürstendamm 24 (Charl) Buddy Bär 10 Jahre Neues Kranzler Eck.jpg, Buddy Bear Quadriga in Berlin, Kurfürstendamm 21

Modern quadrigas

Some of the most significant full-size free-standing sculptures of quadrigas include, in approximate chronological order: * 1793 – The Berlin Quadriga was designed by

Johann Gottfried Schadow Johann Gottfried Schadow (20 May 1764 – 27 January 1850) was a German Prussian sculptor. His most iconic work is the chariot on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, executed in 1793 when he was still only 29. Biography Schadow was born in ...

in 1793 as the ''Quadriga of Victory'', perhaps as a symbol of peace (represented by the olive wreath carried by Victory). Located atop the

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II of Prussia, Frederick William II after Prussian invasion ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, it was seized by

during his occupation of Berlin in 1806, and taken to Paris. It was returned to Berlin by Field Marshal

Gebhard von Blücher Gebhard (''Gebhart'') is a German given name, recorded at least from the 9th century. It is composed of the Old High German elements ''geb'' "gift" and ''hard'' "brave, hardy". People with the surname *Heinrich Gebhard (1878-1963), pianist, comp ...

in 1814. Her olive wreath was subsequently supplemented with an

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

. The statue suffered severe damage during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and the association of the Iron Cross with

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

convinced the

Communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

to remove this aspect of the statue after the war. The iron cross was restored after

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990. * c. 1815 – The Carrousel quadriga is situated atop the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The arch itself was built to commemorate the victories of Napoleon, but the quadriga was sculpted by Baron François Joseph Bosio to commemorate the Restoration of the Bourbons. The Restoration is represented by an allegorical goddess driving a quadriga, with gilded Victories accompanying it on each side. * 1819–1829 – The Quadriga on the

General Staff Building The General Staff Building (russian: Здание Главного штаба, ''Zdanie Glavnogo Shtaba'') is an edifice with a 580 m long bow-shaped facade, situated on Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in front of the Winter Palace. ...

on the Palace Square in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

* 1828–1832 – The Quadriga on the Alexandrinsky Theater, in

* c. 1841 – The Panther Quadriga on the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

* 1845–1848 – The Quadriga on top of Thorvaldsen Museum in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

Herman Wilhelm Bissen Herman Wilhelm Bissen (13 October 1798 – 10 March 1868) was a Danish sculptor. Biography Bissen was born at Schleswig in the Duchy of Schleswig. He was the son of Christian Gottlieb Wilhelm Bissen (1766-1847), a farmer, and Anna Margreth ...

and

Stephan Ussing Stephan may refer to: * Stephan, South Dakota, United States * Stephan (given name), a masculine given name * Stephan (surname), a Breton-language surname See also * Sankt-Stephan * Stefan (disambiguation) * Stephan-Oterma * Stephani * Stephe ...

RIAN archive 101057 The quadriga driven by Apollo

c. 1850 – The Quadriga on the Bolshoi, above the portico of the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

is topped by a lion quadriga created by Martin von Wagner * 1868 – The Quadriga on the

ducal palace Several palaces are named Ducal Palace (Italian: ''Palazzo Ducale'' ) because it was the seat or residence of a duke. Notable palaces with the name include: France *Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, Dijon * Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy * ...

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

was destroyed in 1944 during the

. It was reconstructed in 2008 and is considered the largest one in Europe * 1888 - Quadriga de l'Aurora as part of the Font de la cascada that is in

Parc de la Ciutadella The (; "Citadel Park") is a park on the northeastern edge of Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. For decades following its creation in the mid-19th century, this park was the city's only green space. The grounds include the city zoo ( ...

, Barcelona. Erected by Josep Fontserè (with possible contributions by the young

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect from Spain known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, ''sui generis'' style. Most are located in Bar ...

). * 1893 – ''Columbus Quadriga'' atop the Peristyle Building,

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture '' The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monum ...

, sculpture. * 1895 – The Quadriga of Brabant, situated on top from Parc du Cinquantenaire (1880–1905); built for the 50 years of Belgian Independence, in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, was built by Thomas Vinçotte and

Jules Lagae Jules Lagae ( Roulers, 15 March 1862 – Bruges, 2 June 1931) was a Belgian sculptor and medallist, born in Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province ...

* c. 1898 – Atop Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch at Grand Army Plaza in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, lady

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

, an allegorical representation of the United States, rides in a chariot drawn by two horses. Two winged Victory figures, each leading a horse, trumpet Columbia's arrival. The sculptor was Frederick William MacMonnies. * c. 1900 – Two Quadrigas on the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th ...

in Paris, the work of French sculptor

Georges Récipon Georges Récipon (January 17, 1860 - May 2, 1920), son of the Odiot goldsmith / silversmith Paul Edmond Récipon (1832–1898),Suppl. Larousse Illustré, editions before 1920 was a French painter and sculptorExhibition Document, Musée du Chatea ...

* 1904 – ''

Victory and Progress The Wayne County Building is a monumental government structure located at 600 Randolph Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It formerly contained the Wayne County administrative offices – now located in the Guardian Building at 500 Griswold S ...

'', horse-drawn chariots by J. Massey Rhind on the Wayne County Building in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, though each of the two chariots is drawn by three instead of the customary four horses. * 1906 –'' Progress of the State'' at the

Minnesota State Capitol The Minnesota State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Minnesota, in its capital city of Saint Paul. It houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the office of the Attorney General and the office ...

is unique for being entirely covered in

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

, and is situated above a building entrance rather than a triumphal arch. It was sculpted by

and

Edward Clark Potter Edward Clark Potter (November 26, 1857 – June 21, 1923) was an American sculptor best known for his equestrian and animal statues. His most famous works are the marble lions, nicknamed ''Patience'' and ''Fortitude'', in front of the New Yor ...

. * 1911–1935 – The Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II (Monument of

Victor Emmanuel II en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas , house = Savoy , father = Charles Albert of Sardinia , mother = Maria Theresa of Austria , religion = Roman Catholicism , image_size = 252px , succession ...

, or ''Altare della Patria'' (Altar of the Nation), or "Il Vittoriano") in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

features two statues of goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas. * 1912 – The Wellington Arch Quadriga is situated atop the Wellington Arch in London, England. It was designed by Adrian Jones. The sculpture shows a small boy (actually the son of

Lord Michelham Baron Michelham (verbally Lord) , of Hellingly in the County of Sussex, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 28 December 1905 for the banker, businessman and philanthropist Sir Herbert Stern, 1st Baronet. He was h ...

, the man who funded the sculpture) leading the quadriga, with Peace descending upon it from heaven. * 1919–1923 – The former Banco di Bilbao headquarters at no. 16

Calle de Alcalá Calle de Alcalá is among the longest streets in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for , to the northeastern outskirts of the city. Henry David Inglis described it in 1837 as "long, of superb width, and flanked by a splendid rang ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, now part of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, features two quadrigas on a commercial building. The building was designed by Ricardo Bastida, with the sculptor of the chariot Higinio Basterras, and other sculptures by Quentin de la Torre. The charioteers are helmeted men standing on the handrails of the chariots. Height to plinth: about 87 feet (27 meters). * 1926 – The Palace of Justice in

(seat of the modern

Supreme Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In t ...

) features a bronze quadriga by sculptor Ettore Ximenes. * 2002 – The

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

's Grand Theatre features a quadriga reflecting the original

Antonio Corazzi Antonio Corazzi (born 16 December 1792 in Livorno, died April 27 1877 in Florence) was an Italian architect working in Poland from 1819 to 1847, mainly in Neoclassical style. Biography Antonio Corazzi was the son of an impresario of the Aval ...

's 1833 plans for the building, but not commissioned and executed until 2002.

Gallery

File:Brandenburg Gate Quadriga at Night.jpg,

Quadriga at night. File:Roma Vittoriano - Quadriga dell'Unità.jpg, The ''Quadriga dell'Unità'' at Vittoriano, Rome File:London-Wellington-Arch-P1130943.jpg, Quadriga, Wellington Arch, London File:Triomfboog Jubelpark 4.JPG, ''Brabant Raising the National Flag'' or ''Quadriga of Brabant'', Parc du Cinquantenaire, Brussels File:Peace riding in a triumphal chariot Bosio Carrousel - 2012-05-28.jpg, Quadriga, Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Paris File:Teatr Wielki w Warszawie p7 3.jpg, Quadriga, Grand Theatre, Warsaw File:Moscow 05-2017 img27 Bolshoy Theatre quadriga.jpg, A quadriga sculpted by Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg at

Bolshoi Theater The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and o ...

File:Quadriga at the Columbian World's Fair.jpeg, by

, 1893 File:Progress of the State St. Paul 5.jpg, Daniel Chester French and

1905 File:Arco della Pace - panoramio.jpg, The Seiugae of the

Arch of Peace Porta Sempione ("Simplon Gate") is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district (''quartiere''), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major aven ...

in Milan File:Quadriga - Barcelona - Spain - Europe.JPG, Quadriga in the

in Barcelona File:JMRWayneCoBldg2.jpg, Wayne County Building, Detroit, Michigan, by J. Massey Rhind

References

External links

*
Quadriga
Encyclopaedia Romana.

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Quadriga

{{Authority control Chariots Architectural sculpture Ancient chariot racing History of sculpture Ancient Roman vehicles Helios