Search This Site

26 January 2016

The Venus Fountain, Sloane Square

This is the final part of my walk along Kings Road

I bet most people walk past this beautifully understated piece and don't even notice it. But, please do stop and take a look, because it's lovely.
A bronze life-sized Venus, holding a vase and pouring water from a conch shell, kneels upon a bronze vase-shaped basin decorated with a whimsical relief of Charles II and Nell Gwynn along the Thames. This sits within and above an octagonal stone pool lined with blue ceramic tiles.


It was created by sculptor Gilbert Ledward R.A. (1888-1960) and was intended to be ready for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation but, sadly, there were problems over its instalment and the deadline was not met despite the date inscription*.
It is a reference to the Kings Road which was built during Charles II's reign. Just to the west of Sloane Square was the house where Nell Gwynn, his mistress, stayed on occasion. The vase depicts the lovers seated by the Thames – Charles picks fruit from a tree, whilst Nell Gwynn fans herself. An impish cupid sits nearby with two arrows ready and a deer and hound run in the background whilst a swan swims past.
The inscription around the top of the basin reads, "Sweet Thames run softly, till I end my song", from 'Prothalamion' by Edmund Spenser (1552-1599). The poem was a spousal verse written to honour a double marriage, the title meaning a song preceding the marriage ceremony.
A proposal in 2006 for Grade II listing was not approved.

*The inscription at the bottom of the basin reads: 'GLIBERT LEDWARD RA 1952', and beneath this, 'PRESENTED BY THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS THROUGH THE LEIGHTON FUND'.

5 comments:

  1. The fountain was not listed as a Grade 2 monument??? ... Oh yes it was! You can find details on the Historic England website:- List entry Number: 1391739.

    'Date first listed: 22-Aug-2006'

    ReplyDelete
  2. -(I went and Googled, 'who created Venus statue in Sloane Square'...; and, your web page came back in the search results list.)-

    Thanks for giving us those really interesting details being written in summary.

    As a mostly self-taught 'art student', who often rides my bike right past the Sloane Square statue...; sometimes, I'm tempted to dismount off my bike to go and practice 'copying' it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's lovely, isn't it. I always show it to friends when I am there, and most say they have never noticed the whole fountain, let alone the woderful carving around the bowl.

      Delete
  3. I used to live a mile away from this beautiful fountain.It's the most beautiful fountain,arguably,in London.

    ReplyDelete

Please note that comments are vetted by me personally to check for relevant content before they are published, so don't panic when your feedback isn't immediately visible.
If you write anything perceived to be an ad, spam or self promotion, your comment will be deleted and/or marked as spam/blocked.
Thanks, Jane