The Peace, Sculpture in Versailles, France

The Peace is a pale stone group on a rectangular base near the Royal Gate, showing a seated woman in draped robes holding a staff with a winged top and two snakes, while a small child touches her arm. Behind the figures, a building carries an inscription on a horizontal band, and a dark roof with a rounded balustraded window rises to the right.

The group was carved between 1680 and 1682 after a drawing by Le Brun and placed above the north guard post of the Royal Courtyard gate. It was later moved, restored in 1837 and set in its current spot, with further repairs over the following century.

The seated figure represents peace through objects that were familiar to people at the time: a herald's staff linked to careful speech and command, a torch for burning weapons, and a stack of arms she sits on. A small love figure offers a palm and a laurel branch, a visual formula for the rewards of quietness after conflict.

Look for this group near the Royal Gate on the north side, where the stone has weathered to a pale tone and the details are easiest to see in daylight. Walking around the base helps you notice the child and the staff from different angles.

The staff is a caduceus, often mistaken for a medical symbol but here meaning prudence, eloquence and command. In 2024 the sculpture got a new caduceus, a change that brought a small missing detail back to the Royal Gate group.