Gallery Title
Gallery Title
English sculpture marble figure
Accession Number NWHCM : 2008.270
Description
Statue in classical style, white marble, commissioned by Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association as part of a public drinking fountain for Kew Gardens; depicts young boy with curly hair,clad in drapery, holding dish in right hand and leaning sideways against a stump upon which is an amphora which he grasps with his left hand; 'ariston men hydor' in Greek characters, (quotation from poet Pindar), meaning 'water is best' engraved on side of water jar; he wears a sash across his body upon which is engraved 'Your Good Health'
Read MoreEnglish sculpture marble figure
Norfolk-born sculptor John Bell was an important artist during his lifetime, frequently commissioned for public monuments. His work was admired by both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who bought one of his sculptures at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
This drinking fountain figure, like all Bell's work, is in the romantic classically-influenced style very popular at the time. White marble was considered especially suitable for portraying the innocence of young children. Here it is also intended to convey a message about the pure water the little boy is pouring.
Bell made this fountain for the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association, a charity founded by Norwich philanthropist Samuel Gurney. This charity helped provide clean water for the public, to counteract deadly water-borne diseases such as cholera.
The fountain was chosen for installation at the main entrance of Kew Gardens in the early 1860s by Sir William Hooker, another Norfolk man, then director of Kew.
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