The mayor of Ljubljana presented the hand-carved work to the mayor of Cleveland in 1938, as a token of good will between the two cities. Historically, Cleveland was a prime destination for immigrants from Slovenia. The sculpture symbolizes that, according to Slovenian Consul General, Zvone Zigon.
Zvone Zigon: It's in the shape of a Slovenian woman in a national costume, waving with a handkerchief in greetings. Now, we don't know if this is a greeting to Cleveland as a city... or to Slovenian immigrants here. That's up to us.
For a good part of its history, the statue has been waving goodbye, as the work was shunted back and forth between the mayor's office and City Hall storage facilities. George Voinovich had it perched by his desk. Mike White sent it to the sub-basement. The peripatetic sculpture gets its own pedestal today in a re-dedication ceremony that, ironically, takes place in the red room of City Hall, under the gaze of former Mayor White's official portrait. There's no word on whether the two pieces of art are on speaking terms. David C. Barnett, 90.3.