One of the most recognizable and recurring symbols of science and invention to be seen in the 19th-century art of the Capitol is in a detail of the "Apotheosis of Washington," by the Italian immigrant painter Constantino Brumidi. When the doors of the ornament are opened, the image of the helmeted Roman goddess Minerva—patron of scientists and philosophers—speaking with inventors Benjamin Franklin, Samuel F.B. Morse, and Robert Fulton are represented in the detail. Beautifully gift boxed with provenance on the back, 2.5" x 3".
