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'Winged Nike of Samothrace,' parian marble, found in Samothrace in 1863. Image by Marie-Lan Nyguyen, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Louvre statue ‘Winged Victory’ to be restored

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
'Winged Nike of Samothrace,' parian marble, found in Samothrace in 1863. Image by Marie-Lan Nyguyen, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
‘Winged Nike of Samothrace,’ parian marble, found in Samothrace in 1863. Image by Marie-Lan Nyguyen, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

PARIS (AFP) – The Louvre is preparing to restore one of its most iconic works, the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” (Winged Nike of Samothrace) statue depicting the Greek goddess Nike, the museum announced Monday.

A team of experts will oversee the $4-million restoration of the ancient Greek marble statue – one of the Paris art museum’s three best-known pieces, along with the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.

Repair work on the headless statue, which dates from between 220 B.C. and 185 B.C., is expected to take over a year to complete, though the work should be back on display in spring 2014.

Previously restored in 1934, this second touch-up entails cleaning up the statue and resolving a number of structural problems that were not addressed the first time, the museum said.

According to the Louvre, over 7 million museumgoers visit the statue every year.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

'Winged Victory of Samothrace,' parian marble, found on Samothrace in 1863. Image by Marie-Lan Nyguyen, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
‘Winged Victory of Samothrace,’ parian marble, found on Samothrace in 1863. Image by Marie-Lan Nyguyen, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.