Allegory of justice with sword and scales
Medium
figures
Classification
figures
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Noah Butkin
Accession Number
1977-110-3-5
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Jean-Robert Ango’s *Allegory of Justice Sword and Scales* (ca. 1759–70) invites visitors to contemplate the enduring symbols of fairness and authority. This sculptural figure, crafted by the French artist while active in Rome, embodies the classical iconography of Justice—sword in hand for enforcement, scales for balanced judgment. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum a gift from Noah Butkin, it reflects the 18th-century fascination withorical forms during the Enlightenment era. Ango, who worked in Rome from 1759 to 1770 before his death in 1773, bridged French Rococo elegance with I...