Male and female allegorical figures symbolizing commerce and manufacturing, Corner of Hatton Gardens and Holborn Circus, City of London, EC4, by an unknown sculptor. The male figure holds a caduceus, the staff carried” by Mercury (or in Greek mythology, Hermes) that symbolizes commerce and negotiation (Wikipedia). The female figure symbolizing manufacturing — or more specifically the textile industry — rather limply holds a gear train (though it might be a spindle) in her right hnd while her left hand and arm support a staff with what looks like carded cotton or wool ready to be spun into thread.
Male and female allegorical figures symbolizing the fruits or earth and water — or Farming and Fishing. The male figure supports an object strangely like a cricket bat on which appear the raised image of Neptune's trident around which curves a fish. [Photograph of the building, which currently houses a branch office of a NatWest bank, that is the architectural setting of these sculptures.]
Photographs by Robert Freidus. Formatting, perspective correction, and text by George P. Landow. You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Ward-Jackson, Philip. Public Sculpture of the City of London. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2003.
Last modified 4 March 2024