Juno, Roman, 2nd century AD.

Marble. Museum purchase with funds donated anonymously and the William Francis Warden Fund. 2011.75

Juno at the Brookline estate where she resided for more than 100 years.

The statue’s surface suffered from exposure, biological growth, and cracking.

How to move a statue?

Conservators took great care to analyze the 13,000-pound sculpture before attempting to move it to an indoor location.

Setting up scaffolding

The analysis and removal required access to top of the statue and protection from the elements while work took place.

Juno’s head is examined

Conservators determined that to move the statue, the fragile neck could not support her 380-pound head and it would have to be removed.

Preparing for the cut

A conservator removes old grout along the joint between the head and body, before masons made the cut with saws.

Removing the head

Held in special rigging, the head was carefully lowered and packed for separate transport to the MFA.

Hoisted in the air by a crane

Secured into a 5’8” x 3’9” cradle, Juno was hoisted by a crane and lowered into the only Museum entrance big enough to fit her: a 6 x 6 foot skylight.

Lowering into the Museum

After three weeks of long days and late evenings—and eight workers who maneuvered the cradle during the final leg of installation—Juno finally comes home.

Juno finds her home—and her head

After months of preparation, the 13,000-pound Juno seems right at home in her new surroundings in Gallery 207.