A second miniature version of the Statue of Liberty found a second home in Washington, D.C., nearly 135 years after the unveiling of a cult monument in New York Harbor.
During a visit to the United States, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian unveiled a bronze statue on Wednesday in connection with France’s national holiday, Bastille Day, along with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at the official residence of the French ambassador in Washington.
France presented a mini-statue of Liberty in the US capital
“On this national day of France in the United States, we open the greatest symbol of friendship between the United States and France, freedom and fundamental values,” wrote French envoy Philippe Etienne on Twitter.
The 9-foot-tall statue (2.7 meters) was installed at the National Museum of Arts and Crafts of France (CNAM), but leased to the United States for 10 years.
The statue was recreated from the original plaster model of 1878 by Auguste Bartholdi in 2009. The original statue was donated by France in 1885 as a symbol of “Freedom that illuminates the world.”
Blinken said the idea for the statue was originally conceived by Edward René Lefebvre de Labulayebi, a professor of history and lawyer at the College de France, who was inspired by the events of the US Civil War and the abolition of slavery.