Peace Monuments Dedicated Before 1800

Click here for classical peace art. | Click here for ancient olive trees.

Right click image to enlarge.

T E M P L E

January 30, 9 BC - Ara Pacis Augustae / Altar of Augustan Peace, Rome (Italy). World's oldest peace monument? Built by Roman emperor Augustus Caesar [63 BC - 14 AD]. Enclosed in 2006 by new building designed by American architect Richard Meier (seen in right image).

About 20 BC - Augusto di Prima Porta / Augustus of Prima Porta, Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican Museums (Vatican City). A 2.04m high marble statue of Augustus Caesar [63 BC - 14 AD] which was discovered on April 20, 1863, in the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta, near Rome (Italy). (Augustus Caesar's wife, Livia Drusilla [58 BC-AD 29], retired to the villa after his death.) "The statue's iconography is frequently compared to that of the carmen saeculare by Horace, and commemorates Augustus's establishment of the Pax Romana. The breastplate is carved in relief with numerous small figures depicting the return of the Roman legionary standards or vexillae lost to Parthia by Mark Anthony in the 40's BC and by Crassus in 53 BC, thanks to the diplomacy of Augustus."

AD 75 - Temple of Peace, Forum of Vespasian, Rome (Italy). "The third of the imperial fora, the Forum of Vespasian, was known until late antiquity as the Templum Pacis after the Temple of Peace that dominated the complex. It was begun by Vespasian [9-79] in AD 71 after the capture of Jerusalem the year before & dedicated in AD 75, the year after Masada finally fell, ending the Jewish War. The forum consisted of a large square with a formal garden & was enclosed on three sides by porticoes. On the fourth side, facing the Forum of Augustus, was the temple, itself, the facade in line with the colonnade. Flanking it were large halls, one of which housed a library, the Bibliotheca Pacis. Vespasian "also adorned it with paintings & statues by the greatest of the old masters. In fact, in that temple were collected & deposited all those works that men had hitherto travelled over the whole world to see, longing to set eyes on them even when scattered in different lands... Considered by Pliny to be one of the three most beautiful buildings in Rome. For Herodian, writing more than a century and a half later, the Temple of Peace was 'the largest and most beautiful of all the buildings in the city.'"

About 500 AD - BINCENTIA IN PACE, San Sebastiano Catacomb, Rome (Italy). Inscription (not shown in image) flanked by the Chi-Rho symbol, basket (indicating good works), and dove with olive branch (from Genesis 8:11).

About 500 AD - Grabplatte der Irene mit der Taube, San Callisto Catacomb, Rome (Italy). Depicts dove of peace bringing an olive branch to a child.

1181 - "Noah Receiving the Dove," Augustinian Monastery, Vindobona, near Vienna (Austria). Part of panel #15 of 17 tripartite paels known as the Altar of Verdun. Created during the short interval between the 2nd and 3rd crusades.

13th Century - Churches, Atri, Abruzzo (Italy). "Atri's 13th-century cathedral gave us our first look at the lion-and-lamb theme common to many Abruzzo church facades. At another doorway of the same church, the lions were poised to tuck into a tasty feast of small prey. At another Atri church, the lions were dwarfed by a lamb that looked like a character from Shrek."

1338-39 - Pax, Sala della Pace / Peace Hall, Palazzo Pubblico (town hall), Siena, Tuscany (Italy). Part of the fresco entitled "Effects of Good Government in the City & Countryside" by Ambrogio Lorenzetti [c1290-1348].

1440-1445 - The Battle of San Romano, A set of three paintings by the Florentine painter Paolo Uccello [1397-1475] depicting events that took place at the Battle of San Romano in 1432. Much admired in the 15th century. They are now divided between three collections, the National Gallery, London, the Galleria degli Uffizi and the Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Circa 1483 - Venus and Mars, National Gallery, London (England). A painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli [c1445-1510].

May 28, 1502 - Treaty of Perpetual Peace between England and Scotland, National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh (Scotland). The treaty Scotland sent to England was decorated with thistles and roses to represent the two countries. This was the first occasion the two countries had been linked symbolically by representations of these plants, and the court poet William Dunbar [c1460-c1520] used this theme for his poem on the marriage, The Thrissill and the Rois. The treaty promised everlasting peace between the two countries, the first effective lull over 200 years of intermittent warfare.

c.1510 - Il Figlio Prodigo / The Prodigal Son, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (Netherlands). By Hieronymus Bosch [c1450-1516]. Also known as The Wayfarer, The Vagabond or The Pedlar.

15th Century - Bao'ensi / Temple of Gratitude, Buddhist Pagoda known as The Porcelain Tower, South Bank of Yangtze River, Nanjing Territory (China). No longer exists, but is being reconstructed. Was 260 feet high, octagonal (with eight corners) & 97 feet in diameter. Was largest building in China. Radiated sunrays & functioned as a center of pilgrimage. Destroyed about 1860 during the Taiping Rebellion.

1523 - "Portrait of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam with Renaissance Pilaster," National Gallery, London (England). Oil & tempera on panel, 76 × 51 cm. On loan from Longford Castle. By German painter Hans Holbein the Younger [c1498-1543]. "In 1523, Holbein painted his first portraits of the great Renaissance scholar Desiderius Erasmus [1466-1536], who required likenesses to send to his admirers throughout Europe. These paintings made Holbein an international artist."

1523 - "Porträt des Erasmus von Rotterdam am Schreibpult," Musée du Louvre, Paris (France). By German painter Hans Holbein the Younger [c1498-1543].

1536? - Tomb of Erasmus, Basler Münster / Basel Minster, Münsterplatz, Basel (Switzerland). Desiderius Erasmus [1466/1469-1536] was a Dutch Renaissance humanist. "He spent several years in Basel and died here in 1536. Although he stayed a Roman Catholic, he was buried in the Minster that was by then the main church of the Protestants in Basel. His bones were lost following changes to the church during the 19th century. They were only positively re-identified in 1974 and now rest under his epitaph." Information courtesy of Gerard Lössbroek.

B R I D G E

1593 - Friendship Bridge, Hòa An (Vietnam). "Links the old Chinese and Japanese sides of the canal." "During the period of the China trade (16th-17th century), the town was called Hai Pho (Seaside Town) in Vietnamese. Originally, Hai Pho was a divided town with the Japanese settlement across the "Japanese Bridge." The bridge (Chùa cau) is a unique covered structure built by the Japanese, the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist pagoda attached to one side."

Circa 1602 - ''Allegorie des Friedens und des Uberflusses / Allegory of Peace, Art and Abundance" by Hans von Aachen [1552-1615], Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (Russia).

Circa 1618 - ''The Union of Earth & Water (Antwerp and the Scheldt)" by Peter Paul Rubens [1577-1640], Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (Russia). "The alliance of Cybele, Goddess of Earth, and Neptune, God of Victory, as the important alliance of Flanders and the sea, the River Scheldt and the city of Antwerp."

April 30, 1622 - Standbeeld van Erasmus / Statue of Erasmus, Square in front of Sint Laurens Church, Rotterdam (Netherlands). Click here for Wikipedia article about Desiderius Erasmus [1466-1536].

1628 - The Reconcilation of King Henry III & Henry of Navarre, Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York (USA). By Peter Paul Rubens [1577-1640].

1629-30 - "Allegory on the blessings of peace" by Peter Paul Rubens [1577-1640], National Gallery, London (England). Oil on canvas, 203.5 x 298 cm (80 1/8 x 117 1/4 in). Also called "Peace & War" and "Minerva protects Pax from Mars."

Circa 1638 - "Allegory of Peace and the Arts under the English Crown," Central Hall, Queen's House (now Malborough House), Greenwich, England (UK). Ceiling painting. "One of the few documented collaborations between Artemisia and her father Orazio, who who arrived in Britain in 1626 to work at the Court of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria of England."

May 15, 1648 - Friedenssall / Peace Hall, Rathaus / City Hall, Osnabrück, Lower Saxony (Germany). This room and a similar room in Münster became "unintentional monuments" with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands after the first modern diplomatic congress -- thereby initiating a new political order in central Europe based upon the concept of a sovereign state governed by a sovereign. The Osnabrück City Hall was built from 1487 to 1512 in late Gothic style. It is one of the major landmarks and influential buildings in the city of Osnabrück and is still used as a city hall building.

October 24, 1648 - Friedenssall / Peace Hall, Rathaus / City Hall, Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). This room and a similar room in Osnabrück became "unintentional monuments" with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands after the first modern diplomatic congress -- thereby initiating a new political order in central Europe based upon the concept of a sovereign state governed by a sovereign. Lower image is "Die Gesandten beschwoeren den Frieden zu Muenster / Ratification of the Treaty of Münster" by Gerard Ter Borch [1617-1681] which hangs in the National Gallery, London (England).

17th century - Picture Depicting Peace, Justice & Plenty, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (USA). Textile from England. Not on display. Peace holds dove and laurel. Justice holds sword and balance. Plenty holds fruit-filled corucopia.

1652 - Pendle Hill, Borough of Pendle, Lancashire (England). Visited in 1652 by George Fox [1624-1691] leading to his foundation of the Quaker movement.

1930 - Pendle Hill, Wallingford, Pennsylvania (USA). Quaker educational center near Philadelphia named for Pendle Hill (England).

1654 - "Landscape with Peace & Justice Embracing," Toledo Museum of Art (TMA), Toledo, Ohio (USA). By French painter Laurent de La Hyre [1606-1656].

Circa 1660 - "Dove of the Holy Spirit" by Gianlorenzo Bernini [1598-1680], Throne of St. Peter, Basilica of St. Peter (Vatican City).

1662 - Il Figlio Prodigo / The Prodigal Son, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (Russia). By Harmenszoon van Rijn Rembrandt. Image is a detail of the original painting.

1672 - Statues of Peace & Plenty, Castle Bromwich Hall, Castle Bromwich, West Midlands (England). Bridgeman Family Coat of Arms & Lion.

1691? - Grave of George Fox, Quaker Gardens, London (England). "In keeping with Quaker beliefs in plainness and modesty, his grave has only a simple marker." George Fox [1624-1691] was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.

1694 - Old Quaker Meeting House, 137-16 Northern Boulevard , Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York (USA). "Remains today much as when it was first built, with dark, warm floorboards, simple benches and hand-hewn timber ceiling beams. By all known accounts, the oldest house of worship in New York State and the second oldest Quaker meeting house in the nation." [Where is the oldest?]

1696? - Plaza De La Paz / Plaza of Peace, Basilica Colegiata de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato, Zona Centro, León, Guanajuato, Guanajuato (Mexico). Plaza contains statue of the Virgin Mary.

Circa 1713 - Feuerwerk am Tempel des Friedens / Fireworks in the Temple of Peace, Wilhelmshöhe Palace, Kassel (Germany). Engraving made on the occasion of the Peace of Utrecht (March-April 1713) by B. Picart, P. Roman & P. Loof.

C E I L I N G

1708-1716 - "Peace and Liberty Triumphing Over Tyranny," "The Painted Hall," Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich (England). Allegorical painting by James Thornhill [1675-1734], in which William & Mary accept an olive branch from Peace. /// "In the central oval, the painting shows Peace & Liberty triumphing over Tyranny. Enthroned in heaven with the Virtues behind them, are William & Mary. Above them is the Sun god Apollo shedding his golden light, while Peace with her doves & lambs surrounding her hands an olive branch to William."

1722 - Fredensborg Slot Castle, near Copenhagen (Denmark).While the building was still under construction Denmark and Sweden negotiated a peace treaty, which was signed July 3, 1720 on the site of the unfinished palace. To commemorate the signing, the palace was named Fredens Borg / Palace of Peace.

Circa 1735 - "Allegory of Peace," Park of Bolshoy Catherine Palace, Tsarsoe Selo / Royal Village, 25 km south of St. Petersburg (Russia). Statue by by unknown Italian sculptor.

Circa 1735 - Statue of Pax by P. Baratta, Garden of Pavlovsk Palace, St. Petersburg (Russia).

After 1748 - Stained glass window depicting the 'Greyhound,' church in Olney, Buckinghamshire (England). "John Newton [1725-1807], a one time slaver, underwent religious conversion, and conversion to the anti-slavery cause. His near shipwreck on the 'Greyhound' which found refuge in Londonderry in 1748 played a part in this process. He went on to write ‘Amazing Grace.’"

1770 - ''Mars & Venus: Allegory of Peace" by Louis Jean François Lagrenée [1724-1805], Getty Center, Los Angeles, California (USA). 33 9/16 x 29 3/4 x 2 in.

1776 - "Peace & War," Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (USA). By Italian artist Pompeo Girolamo Batoni [1708-1787].

1780 - "Peace Bringing Back Abundance" by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun [1755-1842], Musee du Louvre, Paris (France). Oil on canvas, 40 3/8" x 52 1/8."

About 1783 - "Peace of Paris, 1783", Diplomatic Reception Rooms (Top Floor), U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC (USA). "Painting by Benjamin West [1738-1820] of the American delegation at the Treaty of Paris: John Jay [1745-1829], John Adams [1735-1926], Benjamin Franklin [1706-1790], Henry Laurens [1724-1792], and William Temple Franklin [1760-1823]. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed." (The preliminary articles signed in Paris on November 30, 1782, were only effective when a similar treaty was signed by Britain and France, which French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes [1717-1787], quickly negotiated. France signed preliminary articles of peace with Great Britain on January 20, 1783, which were followed by a formal Peace of Paris signed on September 3, 1783.)

About 1790 - Plaque with Sacrifice to Peace, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (USA). Wedgwood (jasperware) from England. Not on display.

1793 - "Goddess of Peace," Quadriga, Brandenburger Tor / Brandenburg Gate, Berlin (Germany). Interpretation changed after the German victory over France in 1814 when the woman became Victoria, the goddess of Victory by adding a Prussian eagle on an iron cross to her ensemble. Changed again to a symbol of the Third Reich when the Nazis reached power.

1796 - Peacefield, Quincy, Massachusetts (USA). "I think to christen my place Peacefield, in commemoration of the peace which I assisted in making in 1783, of the thirteen years peace and neutrality which I [as Vice President] have contributed to preserve, and of the constant peace and tranqualitry which I have enjoyed in this residence." -- John Adams [1735-1926], 1796.

1798 - Peace-Office for the USA proposed by Dr. Benjamin Rush, Philadelphia, Pennsylania (USA). Benjamin Rush [1745-1813] was a Philadelphia phsysician and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Left image shows Shippen Mansion, home of Rush at 34 South 4th Street in Philadelphia at the time of his death in 1813. Right image is portrait of Rush by Charles Wilson Peale [1741-1827] in 1783.