2-982-387 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Emblematic Group of Figures, by Mr. John Thomas, over the Principal Entrance of the Leeds Townhall, 1858. Bas-relief by '...Mr. Thomas of London, the sculptor of the Houses of Parliament. The group...represents Leeds in its commercial and industrial character, fostering and encouraging the Arts and Sciences. The central figure...is that of a female, in free and elegant drapery, having in the outstretched right hand a wreath, and in the left the distaff...behind...is a judicial chair, ornamented with rays of light, and flanked by owls, emblematic of wisdom...On the right there is a personification of Poetry and Music, with the lyre and pipe, a Faun's head, and wreath of flowers...also a figure of Industry...holding in her hands samples of textile fabrics. She is...seated on a bale of goods, and resting her arm on an anvil, surrounded by various implements of trade. On the left are two figures representing the Fine Arts and Science. The former bears in her hands the emblems of painting, and leans upon a Corinthian capital, at the base of which is a bust of Minerva; the latter is represented in an attitude of repose...holding in one hand the compass, in the other a globe, marked with the rudiments of geometry, and at her feet lie various portions of machinery'. From "Illustrated London News", 1858.