Page 4 - July Newsletter
P. 4
The original version of our statue discovered the remains of the
was sculpted by (as yet) unknown statue. During the 1860’s, he was
hands because the artist did not the French Consul at a city held by
carve his name for us. The Greek the Ottoman Empire, but Greek in
word for “Rhodes “is scratched on spirit although the Roman Emperor
the lower part of the figure. This is Hadrian founded it. The Greeks
the name of an Aegean island with a called it Adrianople and the Turks
venerable history. It had a school or called it Edirne. When Champoiseau
style of sculpture of its own and was not tied down with consular
some art historians believe that the duties, he went off on exploring
artist might have come from there, jaunts to look for antiquities. He
or perhaps studied there. However, made a journey to Samothrace in
the statue herself was once a 1863 and found the remains of the
resident of Samothrace, an island in Winged Victory, or at least some of
the Aegean Sea, which was them. There were more than one
sometimes independent, and at hundred fragments, large and small,
other times a possession of because alas! The lady had gone to
Macedon, Rome, the Byzantine pieces! Champoiseau picked up
Empire and the Ottoman Empire. In those pieces, crated them carefully
1913, Turkey formally ceded and sent them off to the Louvre
Samothrace to Greece. The island's Museum in Paris. There, expert
history goes back to very early restorers assessed the remains and
Greek times when pilgrims often painstakingly put them together.
came there to worship at a group of The job must have been something
ancient shrines called the Sanctuary like assembling a three-dimensional
of the Great Gods. The island's jigsaw puzzle. The lovely body and
excellent harbor made for good swirling draperies of the goddess
travel and for good commerce as were intact, but she had lost her
well. Surplus crops of grain, olive oil, head, her arms and her hands as
and wine were popular trade goods. well. The ship’s prow that was her
Samothracian sponges were also pedestal remained unknown and
popular export sales items. unfound at that time. In 1879,
Champoiseau came back to
Charles Champoiseau, a French Samothrace and discovered the
diplomat, and archaeologist, carved ship’s prow, also in
