The Capitoline Wolf at The Musei Capitolini, Rome

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The Capitoline Wolf is a bronze sculpture of a she-wolf suckling twin infants, inspired by the legendary founding of Rome. According to legend, when Numitor, grandfather of the twins Romulus and Remus, was overthrown by his brother Amulius, the usurper ordered the twins to be cast into the Tiber River. They were rescued by a she-wolf who cared for them until a herdsman, Faustulus, found and raised them. The Capitoline Wolf has been housed since 1471 in the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Campidoglio (the ancient Capitoline Hill), Rome, Italy. The age and origin of the Capitoline Wolf are a subject of controversy. The statue was long thought to be an Etruscan work of the 5th century BC, with the twins added in the late 15th century AD, probably by the sculptor Antonio Pollaiolo. However, radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating have found that the wolf portion of the statue was likely cast between 1021 and 1153. This sculpture is a bronze replica now on permanent display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Scanned by Shannon!