Statue of Portia - University of Michigan
Posted by: GT.US
N 42° 16.495 W 083° 44.282
17T E 274212 N 4683931
Portia was Shakespeare’s greatest lawyer (from Merchant of Venice). At the time it was carved it was the only known representation of the subject in marble (and may still be so).
Waymark Code: WM2CQD
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 10/13/2007
Views: 69
From the smithsonian website: (
visit link)
A standing figure of Portia, the female lawyer from Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice." She wears a full-length robe and gestures with her raised proper right hand. She holds an object against her chest with her proper left hand. The sculpture rests on a small hexagonal base in an ornate niche on the facade of the Martha Cook Building.
The sculpture is attributed to both Attilio and Furio Piccirilli, but is probably the work of Furio Piccirilli. The Martha Cook Building was built in 1915 by the architectural firm of York and Sawyer, and is a Michigan historic site, registered as state site no. 601. William N. Cook, a lawyer who donated funds for the building, selected the character of Portia.