This is one of three sections of an electrotype copy of a frieze acquired in 1901, made by Charles V. Walker after an original by Bertel Thorvaldsen. It depicts the Triumphal entry of Alexander the Great into Babylon and showns three Babylonian warriors each holding a spear and one also holding a shield. It is a copy of an original stucco frieze, 32 metres in length, ordered by Napoleon I in 1813 for a room in the Palazzo Qurinale at Rome. Marble versions also exist in the Villa Carlotta at Cadeabbia on Lake Como and in the Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen. This portion represents Alexander in a quadringa driven by Victory.

There is no information to be found so far about the sculptor Walker,active about 1850 - 1901, who is presumably the maker of the electrotypes.

Thorvaldsen (1768/70 – 1844) was a Danish sculptor and collector, who was active in Italy. He spent most of his working life in Rome, where he followed Antonio Canova to become the foremost Neo-classical sculptor. His fame and reputation led to commissions from public and private patrons in many countries. He had a large and well-organized studio and a collection of contemporary paintings, which was probably the finest in 19th-century Rome and, together with many of his sculptures, is now housed in the Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen. In the decades after his death, the interest in Neo-classicism declined and with this also his reputation. It took until the mid-20th century that his art was re-evaluated.