Victoria/Victory

Victoria/Victory

Victoria is a Roman goddess who symbolizes "an accomplished victory" (Töpfer 2015, 6). The goddess is usually depicted as a winged figure and is often regarded as an equivalent figure with the Greek goddess Nike due to her roots in Etruscan culture and iconography (Kanel 2009, 74–83, as cited by Töpfer). In Roman times, the abundant existence of Victoria in architecture and cultural practices suggests that there was a prominent cult for her (Töpfer 2015, 6f.).
For the Victoria statue at Saigon Opera House, the statues signify the victory of theater arts. The statue consists of the two angel-like figures in symmetrical order, flying around an Apollo's lyre. The motif of Victoria flying was a very popular one in classical times, usually crowning the victor. The coronation of Victoria is very important in that it "related to the person ... even to a god or goddess who was thought to do so [use that specific passage in a ceremonial context]" (Töpfer 2015, 8). In this case, the Victoria twins flying around the lyre can be perceived as welcoming Apollo, or showing the triumph of Apollo's art in the context of a municipal theater.
However, the classical iconography of Victoria is her standing alone and crowning someone (Michels 1972). It is to be noted that after the rise of Christianity, although depictions of Victoria were still prominent, sometimes she was replaced by angels instead (Töpfer 2015, 9). Thus, there's a possibility that the statue on the rooftop of Saigon Opera House is more of a Christianized version of Victoria. This is very important because Victoria is often associated with a military victory and setting, whereas angels similar to Victoria appear in a more "heavenly sphere" (or, settings that are not military, like the theater arts) . Understanding the right iconography of the statue will shred light on what were the intentions of the architect, in a colonial setting, when they situate that statue on Saigon Opera House.

References:
Kaenel, Rudolf. 2009. “Darstellungen der Nike in der etruskisch-italischen Baudekoration.” In Deliciae Fictiles IV. Architectural Terracottas in Ancient Italy, edited by Patricia Lulof, 74–83. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
Michels, Agnes. 1972. "Review of Dumézil, Georges. 1970. Archaic Roman Religion. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press." American Journal of Archaeology vol. 76, no. 1: 104–6.
Töpfer, Kai Michael. 2015. "The Goddess of Victory in Greek and Roman Art." In Spirits in Transcultural Skies, edited by Niels Gutschow and Katharina Weiler, 1–18. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Nguyễn Đỗ Nguyễn