Pediment of the Courtyard Facade

Once past the richly carved oak entrance gate, the main courtyard of the Rohan palace opens up. Unlike the Riverside Façade, which has three floors, the Courtyard Facade has only two. This difference is due to the terrain, sloping down from the Cathedral to the Ill river below.
This Courtyard Facade is surmounted by a triangular pediment with decorative sculpture. Two figures lie along the sloping sides of the pediment. They are the work of Robert Le Lorrain, the official sculptor of Prince-Bishop Armand Gaston de Rohan. The figure on the left holding a Roman lictor's insignia, represents "Force" while the one on the right, holding a mirror entwined by a snake, symbolises "Prudence".
In the centre of the pediment appear the arms of France. They were originally surrounded by two cherubs, one of which was blowing the trumpet of Renown amidst trophies of arms. During the French Revolution these were vandalised and in the early 1900s they were inappropriately replaced by the prince-bishop's coat of arms.