Statues and monuments in the City 3

A whole lot of woman here! This huge nude figure, sculpted in bronze by Colombian artist Fernando Botero can be seen lying above the Water Feature by Stephen Cox, in Exchange Square in the Broadgate complex. It weighs in at 5 tons and is massive in size.

An abstract in carved stone by Stephen Cox stands at Sun Street Roundabout. It portrays the tension between opposites of belief. Positive - negative, male - female, yin - yan, birth - death. In Hindu, Devi is 'the Goddess'. Ganapathi alludes to the elephant god, Ganesh.

Any old iron, any old iron! When I first saw this I thought it was surplus building material left to be picked up by the scrap lorry! Entitled ‘Fulcrum’, it is by American artist, Richard Serra. It stands at an entrance to the Broadgate complex. The artist must have had a smile on his face when he got paid for this, as well as getting rid of some junk from his studio!

Another sculpture to be found at Broadgate. This one is by Welsh artist Barry Flanagan who as a sculptor and print maker, apparently has a reputation for portraying Hares with human attributes. When I took this photo I felt I had seen it before, but since then I have found many other works in the same vein and rather like them now.

On the corner of Lawrence Poultney Hill and Cannon Street this sculpture, approximately a metre tall, can be seen recessed into the corner of the building there. The plaque gives the following information about the work:
“Break the walls of distrust. Commissioned by Speyhawk PLC October 1989
Unveiled by The Right Hon. Richard Luce M.P. Minister for the arts on 17th May 1990. A work by Zurab Tsereteu people’s artist of the USSR”.

A bronze Shepherd and Sheep by Dame Elisabeth Frink can be found at the North end of Paternoster Square. The reason it is here, I suppose, is that the square was a livestock market in ancient times. The statue was commissioned for the previous Paternoster Square complex in 1975 and was replaced on a new plinth following the redevelopment. Another of her works is the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green.

Bow Lane, by the side of Saint Mary Le Bow Church, leads into Watling Street. Turn right, and you will come upon this memorial to the naval admiral who became the first governor of New South Wales, Admiral Arthur Phillip (1738 - 1814). At the time this was a proposed British penal colony. There is a great deal of information to be had from the engraved plaques attached to the base around the sides of the structure.

Around the corner from Saint Paul’s Cathedral, in King Edward Street, you will find this imposing figure. Sir Roland Hill, normally credited as being the founder of the modern postal service and it’s penny black stamp. Designed in 1881 by artist Edward Onslo Ford, it was unveiled outside the National Postal Museum in 1923. He was originally from Kidderminster.

Upon entering the square and seeing this column, I presumed it was a small version of The Monument to the Great Fire. I was wrong. It is in fact, fountain below a stone column topped by a gold leaf covered flaming copper urn, illuminated by fibre-optics at night. Designed by the architects Whitfield Partners.

This giant piece of sculpture by Thomas Heatherwick can be seen in Bishops Court, an area leading off Paternoster Square. It is quite a large functional piece, actually a cooling vent for the electrical transformers, and replaces a plain concrete vent. It has been likened to an angel's wings.

Bellerophon Taming Pegasus, to give it’s full name, by Jaques Lipchitz (1891 - 1973). It can be seen somewhat hidden in a small courtyard off the Broadgate Complex near the ‘Rush Hour’ statue. Sculpted in 1964, the unusual bronze figure was unveiled in 1987.

This firefighters memorial entitled ‘Blitz’ was unveiled on May 4th. 1991 by The Queen Mother in Old Change Court, Sermon Lane, behind Saint Pauls Cathedral. Churchill referred to them as ‘Heroes with grimy faces’ once. The scupltor of this work was John W. Mill

A lady E-mailed me to find out what this statue represented, and I must admit I have never noticed it before. It is very high up on a conical roof and from the photo I took, shows a woman in a long dress holding what appears to be, a snake in her right hand and a skull in the left.
It has absolutely stumped me! I can find no mention of it in all the usual places I go for research, and it is beginning to annoy me. I have even made enquiries at the bank also, and a very kind young lady is trying to get the information (if it exists). If you can help with this please contact me.