Statues - Hither & Thither |
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Durham
Durham, County North East England Market Place |
Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of LondonderryDublin 1778 - London 1854Irish soldier in the British army, and politician; Lord Lieutenant of the County of Durham, 1842-54 (Wikipedia) |
Raffaele Monti
1861 |
Equestrian statue of the Marquess of Londonderry, representing him on charger of large and heavy proportions.
In the newspapers of the time, you find hardly a description of the statue; being made with the new technique of electrotyping or galvanoplasty, invented by Moritz von Jacobi in 1838, this technique got most of attention, like the elaborate description in the Newcastle Journal:
It has been executed the process of metal depositing, called galvano-plastic or electro-typing. Either name explains the manner by which metals in the state of solution, acidulated, are made by means of the electric power, such as developed the battery of Volta or Galvano, to assume by reduction certain forms. Therefore, Galvanism to sculpture was said to be like printing to literature. (...)
The statue, however, seems to show a further stage in the application of galvano-plastic. It is, in fact, the only equestrian statue, and the largest statue, attempted as yet by this process by a private sculptor. The works of Baron Launitz in the Zeil of Frankfort-on-the-Maine are certainly admirable, but not to be compared in size and difficulties to the present one. Even with the aid of the Imperial Government, Professor Jacobi (the real father of galvano-plastic) has never attempted anything so large, and when he did try his hand at something near it, after years of exertions, and immense sums invested, he was obliged to desist.
The statue of the Marquess has not been a very easy task to Signor Monti – who having during several years adapted this way of casting works of different sizes, but never so large before – found himself on several occasions beset by unexpected and almost insurmountable difficulties.
Now, however, all the difficulties are overcome, and the statue is on its pedestal. continues with a extensive description of the process)
Unveiled on 2 December 1861 by the Duke of Cleveland.
After less than a century, in May 1950, was reported that the statue was desintegrating and "almost, beyond repair. "If restoration was attempted the statue would probably fall to pieces." Almost a year later it was removed for restoration 1 April 1951. Restoration took seven months and in March 1952 it returned.
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