John Hogan (1800-1858) was considered one of Ireland's greatest sculptors, described by the Neoclassical master Bertel Thorvaldsen as 'the best sculptor I leave after me in Rome.'
Carved in wood and coated in plaster, this life-sized figure of Minerva (1824) was created for an insurance office in the South Mall in Cork. It was one of his earliest works to attract public attention.