3-008-940 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Memorial fountain at Dublin to the late Sir Philip Crampton, surgeon-general of Her Majesty's forces, 1862. 'The fountain was designed by Mr. Joseph Kirk, R.H.A...It is tripod-shaped, the lower part composed of Irish granite, above which is a handsome slab of polished Aberdeen granite...the superstructure is of bronze...[in the form of a] marine trophy representing water-plants, the Indian lily, the Indian water-plant, abacus, and others...At each of the three angles the water plays through a dolphin's mouth into a basin in the Irish granite cut to represent a shell...[There] is a well-executed colossal bust of Sir Philip Crampton, in bronze. Beneath it are the club and serpent, emblematical of Aesculapius...Around the pedestal, and immediately superior to the dolphins' heads, are three birds - the swan, the heron, and the pelican - executed in bronze...The bronze portion of the fountain was cast in the foundry of Mr. Potter, South Moulton-street, London, and is most creditably finished. Mr. Bryan carved the Irish granite in the Golden Quarries, Blessington, where it was obtained; and the carving has been executed with great care, and evinces considerable artistic skill on the part of Mr. Bryan...The entire cost of the fountain is £800'. From "Illustrated London News", 1862.