Highlight objects at Buckingham Palace
Learn more about the decorative arts on display at Buckingham Palace this summer
Mars and Venus
1815-19Marble | 208.0 x 137.0 x 65.5 cm (whole object) | RCIN 2038
This magnificent full-length sculpture of the Roman gods Mars and Venus was carved from a single marble block. It represents an allegory of War and Peace after England's victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The sculpture was commissioned by the Prince Regent that year for Carlton House during the sculptor Canova's visit to London to see the Elgin Marbles.