Focus on this artwork and discuss the Description.
The Statue of Freedom is a colossal bronze figure standing 19+1⁄2 ft (5.9 m) tall and weighing approximately 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg). Her crest peaks at 288 feet (88 m) above the east front plaza of the U.S. Capitol. She is an allegorical figure whose right hand holds the hilt of a sheathed sword, while a laurel wreath of victory and the Shield of the United States are clasped in her left hand. Her chiton is secured by a brooch inscribed "U.S." and is partially covered by a heavy, Native American–style fringed blanket thrown over her left shoulder. She faces east toward the main entrance of the building and the rising Sun. She wears a military helmet adorned with stars and an eagle's head which is itself crowned by an umbrella-like crest of feathers. Although not actually called "Columbia", she shares many of her iconic characteristics. Freedom stands atop a cast-iron globe encircled with one of the national mottoes, E pluribus unum. The lower part of the base is decorated with fasces and wreaths. Ten spikes are attached to her headdress, shoulders and shield to deter birds from roosting. The statue conducts lightning to its base where it is grounded by thick copper wire connected to a spike in the earth as a safe high current pathway for lightning strikes.
E pluribus unum Columbia Statue fasces United States bronze Native American allegorical statue left rising chiton laurel wreath