Statues - Hither & Thither |
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London
London Greater London Bank junction (EC3) |
Pediment of the Royal Exchange |
Richard Westmacott
1844 |
At the Bank junction side is a large pediment depicting Britain's commercial activities all over the globe. There are seventeen figures:
In the center stands the crowned figure of Commerce holding a 'charter of exchange' in one hand and a rudder in the other, with a ship's prow clearly visible on one side of her, and a beehive and an overflowing cornucopia on the other. She stands on a plinth with the inscription: the earth is the lord's and the fulness thereof (Psalm 24.1 — a text chosen by Prince Albert).
On the steps leading to the plinth is to the left a group wearing the robes of Lord Mayor, Alderman and Common Councilman, and on the right stand two British merchants examining material offered by a Persian trader.
Further left the trade and exchange of goods from the near-east is depicted, starting in the left angle with a Turkish merchant doing his accounts, an Armenian banker, a Greek man holding an amphora, and, coming closer to the centre, two Indians, a Muslim and a Hindu.
To the right is another group, starting with a Chinese man (this was the period of the Opium Wars when Great Britain forced China to allow the importation of opium from British India), a sailor from the Levant, an African, a British sailor tying up a bale, and a 'supercargo' or cargo-manager or -agent.
For sculptures on the Royal Exchange, see also the statues of merchants and the Gresham Grasshopper.
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