The Barberini Hera or Barberini Juno is a Roman sculpture of Hera or

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

, copied from a Greek original. Excavated in Rome in the late 17th century, it is preserved in the Museo Pio-Clementino.

Description

The statue depicts the goddess standing, wearing a crown and

peplos A peplos ( el, ὁ πέπλος) is a body-length garment established as typical attire for women in ancient Greece by circa 500 BC, during the late Archaic and Classical period. It was a long, rectangular cloth with the top edge folded down a ...

(which clings to show her form beneath and has dropped from her left shoulder, nearly revealing her breast) and now resting the weight of her restored right arm on a standing

sceptre A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The '' Was'' and other ...

and carrying a

patera In the material culture of classical antiquity, a ''phiale'' ( ) or ''patera'' () is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has a bulbous indentation (''omphalos'', "bellybutton") in the center underside to facilitate holding it, in ...

in her left. This sculpture is a Roman copy of a Greek original, possibly by Alcamenes;

Lewis Richard Farnell Lewis Richard Farnell FBA (1856–1934) was a classical scholar and Oxford academic, where he served as Vice-Chancellor from 1920 to 1923. George Stanley Farnell in the inscription of the 1896 edition of the first volume of the first edition of ...

suggested only that "the not infrequent repetition of the type suggests a Greek original of some celebrity." It is now in the

Museo Pio-Clementino 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 of ...

in the

Vatican Museums 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 of ...

. It is also sometimes identified as a

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

. The right arm and the nose are restorations

Discovery

It was excavated by the antiquary Leonardo Agostini in the late 17th century on the

Viminal Hill The Viminal Hill ( ; la, Collis Vīminālis ; it, Viminale ) is the smallest of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. A finger-shape cusp pointing toward central Rome between the Quirinal Hill to the northwest and the Esquiline Hill to the southeast ...

, under the convent associated with the church of

San Lorenzo in Panisperna The church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna is a Roman Catholic church on Via Panisperna, Rome, central Italy. It was previously known as "San Lorenzo in Formoso". It was erected on the site of its dedicatee's martyrdom. It is one of several church ...

, the site of the ancient Baths of Olimpiades, and was given its conventional identification by its early owner, Cardinal Francesco Barberini.Ercole Massi, ''Sculptures and Galleries in the Vatican Palace'', 3rd ed. 1873:170; Jean Duchesne, ''Museum of painting and sculpture or collection of the principal ...'', vol. 13, 1832:918.

Notes

17th-century archaeological discoveries Hera Sculptures of Hera Sculptures of the Vatican Museums Roman copies of Greek sculptures {{VaticanCity-sculpture-stub