Jubilee Monument for Queen Victoria, Calcutta by Sir George Frampton, R.A., P.R.B.S. (1860-1928). 1897-1901. Bronze. Scanned image 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 person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL.]
"The figure, which is some two and a half times larger than life, stands with its pedestal twenty-seven feet high. Certain details of the material employed may be worth setting down. The figure itself is to be of light bronze, the sceptre of ivory with gold ornaments, the orb of blue lapis-lazuli, surmounted by a golden figure of St. George; the crown and wreath will also be in gold, and the cushion behind the figure enamelled, probably in pale blue and white. The robes are those pertaining to the Order of the Star of India which her Majesty wore when she assumed the title of Empress. The lion and tiger side by side on the back of the statue typify respectively the British Kingdom and the Indian Empire. Two figures at the top represent Art and Literature and Justice. The capitals which support them are carved to represent English oak leaves, and a typical Indian tree, which is a sacred symbol of the Indian religion. Roses ornament the throne behind the head of the Queen. The base, which will be of richly coloured marble, will bear the Royal arms in enamel, supported by bronze figures of two Indians. It is fortunate that a work of art, at once novel in treatment and remarkably stately in its conception, should represent the flourishing condition in our Indian empire but it is impossible to avoid feeling a slightly jealous regret that so fine a work should leave the country." — The Studio
References
Beattie, Susan. The New Sculpture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983.
Studio 14 (July 1898): 120, 122.
Last modified 6 November 2004