The title of this sculpture is in Latin, it means ‘Glory to the Vanquished’. Mercié made the original in 1874 in response to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, which France lost. This version is one of a number of casts made in the 1880s.

It shows a fallen warrior being carried to heaven by a winged female figure. Mercié probably drew his inspiration from the winged Greek goddess of victory, Nike.  Here Nike has been combined with the traditional image of an angel creating a sculpture with both Classical and Christian elements.