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Description: | A bronze statue of the aged Queen Victoria which, in its balance of naturalism and fantasy, may be seen as a variant of the sculptor's 1887 'Jubilee Monument' at Winchester:(1) the figure is a replica whilst the canopy design is different.(2) The Queen sits with a crown on her head and orb and sceptre in either hand on an elaborate throne. Her diminutive figure nestles within the deeply-modelled folds of a huge, flowing cloak and her feet rest on a large tassled cushion. The back of the throne and, more particularly, the throne's canopy comprise a free arrangement of piled-up, curved pediments, brackets and pedestals which echoes the shape of the lantern of the steeple of St Nicholas Cathedral nearby. Perched on the top of the canopy is a plumed helmet with a crown on top. The statue rests on a bronze base whose gently swelling form and strange helmeted children's heads are a replica of that on the 1887 Shaftesbury Memorial at Piccadilly Circus.This bronze base rests on polished pink granite pedestal, circular in shape with square projecting corners, designed by J.W.Dyson. The orb in the Queen's hand was meant to have an 'ideal representation of Victory' on top but this was lost in the casting.(3) Additional Information: The statue both celebrates the reign of the recently deceased Queen Victoria (1837-1901) and marks the 500th anniversary, on 23rd May 1900, of the office of sheriff in Newcastle which was first granted by Henry IV. W.H. Stephenson explained that the role of the sheriff, the statue's commissioner, was to be 'lord and master over everything that relates to the Queen and the administration of the law.'(4) It is perhaps rather surprising that Newcastle should have chosen to celebrate the Queen's reign in this way. The city in the late nineteenth cenury was reputedly rather republican in its sympathies, so much so that for a period the Queen always used to lower the blinds on her carriage whenever she passed through.(5) | Subjects: | Statue | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Sculptor: Gilbert, Alfred | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=7531... | Go to resource |
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