Vase de la Paix, Marble sculpture in the gardens of Versailles, France.
The Vase de la Paix is a carved marble urn on the terrace of the gardens of Versailles, facing the Vase de la Guerre by Antoine Coysevox. Its body carries a relief of Louis XIV crowned with olive, flanked by Hercules and Victory, with the allegory of Peace handing an olive branch to Holland. The handles are full-relief faun mascarons.
Created in 1684 to commemorate the Treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle and Nijmegen, this sculpture celebrates the diplomatic achievements of Louis XIV in establishing peace between France, Spain, and Holland during the late 17th century.
The carved band shows Louis XIV crowned with olive, Hercules at his right and Victory at his left. The allegory of Peace holds out an olive branch to Holland, who invites Spain forward, while Germany still holds a warlike stance. History carries a caduceus and a tablet inscribed "Pace in leges suas confecta Neomagi", recalling the 1679 peace treaty.
The vase stands on the terrace of the garden of Versailles, facing the Vase de la Guerre carved by Antoine Coysevox; the pair frames the same walk, so both can be seen from one spot. The surface is flat paved ground beside the building shown behind the urn. The coordinates given in older records, 48°48'16"N, 2°07'11"E, place it in the garden.
The vase faces the Vase de la Guerre carved by Antoine Coysevox on the same terrace. In 1730 it appeared in the engravings of "Versailles immortalisé" by Jean-Baptiste de Monicart, and in 1900 Gerda Wegener made it the central subject of a watercolour.
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