#15 – Who is this woman?

Stop at Temple of Victory

In typical Victorian fashion, Missouri Botanical Garden founder Henry Shaw arranged for his mausoleum long before his death. In 1862 he constructed a mausoleum out of Missouri limestone and placed the structure in a grove of trees directly in front of Tower Grove House. However, in 1885, Shaw changed his mind believing that the limestone would not hold up to the elements over time. He had the limestone structure moved here, and commissioned a marble statue, The Victory of Science over Ignorance, to be placed inside in 1887.

The statue is an exact copy of the statue by Vincenzo Consani in the Pitti Gallery at Florence, Italy. In this statue Victory is depicted with her sword laid aside and writing on a shield with an inscription below that reads: The Victory of Science over ignorance. Ignorance is the curse of God. Knowledge is the wing wherewith. We fly to heaven.

Shaw believed that, in addition to providing recreational, educational, and aesthetic benefits, botanical gardens should expand and apply knowledge about the natural world. For 150 years, the Garden has maintained Shaw’s emphasis on research and conservation. Today, the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the world’s leading scientific institutions studying plants and working to preserve biodiversity around the world.