Bernini designed this elephant-with-obelisk sculpture, though it was actually executed by his pupil Ferrata. The Egyptian obelisk was found in the adjacent Dominican church, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva’s, garden.
The obelisk is one of two moved from Sais, where it was built in 500 B.C. It was brought to Rome by the emperor Diocletian.
Lucky for the elephant, this is the smallest of the 11 obelisks found throughout Rome.
The base bears a Latin inscription that loosely translates to “a strong mind is necessary to support a solid knowledge.” The elephant symbolizes strength and wisdom.
Inspiration for the statue was a 15th century novel by Francesco Colonna, “Poliphilo’s Dream of the Strife of Love”, whose protagonist meets a stone elephant carrying, well, an obelisk.
No comments yet.