A caryatide is a female figure carrying something on her head. Caryatides are often seen as a part of works of architecture. In this case, they were to carry a very valuable symbolic load: an inscription documenting that Napoleon I had promised the Poles to restore the kingdom of Poland. In return, the Poles would support France in its war against Russia. However, Napoleon was defeated, the Polish patriotic hero and likely new king was killed in battle, and Poland remained divided and unfree.
The marble statues remained unfinished in Thorvaldsen’s workshop until 1818, when they were instead commissioned for the Throne Room of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.
