Vedovelle Fountains

Location: Milan, Italy

In the municipality of Milan there are over 400 small drinking fountains originally installed in public gathering places such as flower and vegetable markets, public parks, churches and cemeteries. The cast iron fountains were cast by Fonderia Lamperti at the end of the 19th century from a design by Sir Richard Wallace, a wealthy English art collector and philanthropist who lived in France.

Circa 1932. Source: https://serenavestrucci.com/VEDOVELLE-E-DRAGHI-VERDI

Known as the Small Model the fountain painted dark green is approximately 4ft tall with a single column decorated with acanthus bas-relief. The capital supports a decorative finial. A red cross on a white field, Milan’s coat of arms, is situated just beneath the water spout which is in the form of a dragon. A constant stream of water pours from the mouth of the brass dragon into a basin at ground level. For the amusement of children, putting your finger in the dragon’s mouth forces the water to spout from a small hole in the head.

Creative Commons License, Giovanni dall’Orto. Source: https://wikitravel.org/en/File:DSC02799_-_Milano_-_Piazza_Scala_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall%27Orto_-_20-Jan-2007.jpg

Source: https://racing.trekbikes.com/stories/trek-segafredo-men/behind-the-stripes-trek-segafredo-gm-luca-guercilena

Used with permission. Source: https://travelinagarden.blogspot.com/2013/03/green-dragons-in-milan.html

Used with permission. Source: https://travelinagarden.blogspot.com/2013/03/green-dragons-in-milan.html

Used with permission. Source: https://travelinagarden.blogspot.com/2013/03/green-dragons-in-milan.html

Source: https://serenavestrucci.com/VEDOVELLE-E-DRAGHI-VERDI

The constant flow of water prevents the formation of bacteria. Run off water is channelled to the municipal water purifier and used in the cultivated fields surrounding the city. The fountains are maintained by Metropolitana Milanese to ensure the quality of the water. This company created a map identifying the location of all 418 small fountains with the hope that it would encourage their use and reduce the use of plastic water bottles. The map can also be viewed online at www.fontanelle.org

These drinking fountains are known as Vedovelle (Little Widows) in reference to the constant stream of water which resembles the tears of grieving widows. They are also referred to as Drago Verde (Green Dragons) due to the colour of the pedestal and the little dragon head water spouts.

As part of the Artline Milano public art project which created a permanent art exhibition within a public park, artist Serena Vestrucci combined modern art with tradition by creating unique brass spouts on ten historic fountains.

Source: https://serenavestrucci.com/VEDOVELLE-E-DRAGHI-VERDI

Source: https://serenavestrucci.com/VEDOVELLE-E-DRAGHI-VERDI

Source: https://serenavestrucci.com/VEDOVELLE-E-DRAGHI-VERDI

Source: https://serenavestrucci.com/VEDOVELLE-E-DRAGHI-VERDI

Source: https://serenavestrucci.com/VEDOVELLE-E-DRAGHI-VERDI

Source: https://serenavestrucci.com/VEDOVELLE-E-DRAGHI-VERDI

Source: https://serenavestrucci.com/VEDOVELLE-E-DRAGHI-VERDI

Glossary

• Acanthus, one of the most common plant forms (deeply cut leaves) to make foliage ornament and decoration. It is symbolic of a difficult problem that has been solved.
• Bas-relief, sculpted material that has been raised from the background to create a slight projection from the surface
• Finial, a sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure

 

Davis Memorial Fountain

Location: McMinnville, TN, USA

On a daily basis many people walk past the Hebe statue, located in McMinnville Public Square at the south side of Warren County Courthouse, perhaps unaware that this structure was originally a drinking fountain.

The cast iron drinking fountain was donated to the city of McMinnville by Laura Davis Worley and her sister, Florence Davis, as a memorial to their parents, Captain O.W. Davis and his wife Elizabeth. A committee formed by Laura Worley with city officials unanimously selected a three level fountain to accommodate horses, small animals and people. It was installed at the east end of the park at Court Square in 1914 and dedicated on Thursday May 20, 1915.

Circa 1930

In 1999 members of Heritage Alliance, Main Street McMinnville and the Leadership McMinnville Class of 1999 began raising funds to save the structure from further deterioration. It was removed during the renovation of Main Street in 2005, and restoration of the fountain was undertaken by local man James McGaw, a mechanical engineer and metallurgist who painstakingly restored it by hand over a 2½ year period. In 2015, the centennial of the dedication was recognized by placing a wreath at the fountain.

A square base seated on an octagonal plinth, this structure originally contained four small basins at each corner for the use of dogs. At the front of the fountain is a dedication plaque located between two cornices, Under The Auspices Of / The Woman’s Civic League / 1914. Above is a fluted basin for human consumption, and in the rear is a large fluted horse trough. Three cusped arch side panels contain the head of a Naiad. (In Greek mythology, a Naiad was a female water nymph who guarded fountains, wells, and other bodies of fresh water.) The fourth panel in the rear is engraved; Owen Watkins Davis / Elizabeth Savage Davis / By their daughters / Laura Davis Worley / and / Florence Davis.

The capital edged with rope detail and acanthus frieze supports a short pedestal decorated with bas relief in the form of reeds and a crest. Two globe lanterns are supported by elaborate consoles. A classical statue of the Greek Goddess Hebe stands on an abacus. This standing female figure is based on the 1806 sculpture by Berthel Thorvaldsen. (The daughter of Zeus and Hera, Hebe is the Greek goddess of Youth and Spring, and proffers the cup of immortality at the table of the gods.)

Dressed in flowing robes gathered at the waist, her head is tilted down and to the left, and her hair is held by a headband or ribbon. Her left leg is bent and her weight is on her right leg. (This stance is called contrapposto, where one leg bears the weight and the other leg is relaxed.) She holds a pitcher with a lowered right hand beside her thigh and a cup in her raised left hand with her gaze focusing on it. A plate on the base of the statue identifies the manufacturer, J. W. Fiske.

Source: James E. Akenson

Creative Commons License, Brent Moore. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/46468633772

Glossary:

• Abacus, at the top of a capital, a thick rectangular slab of stone that serves as the flat, broad surface
• Acanthus, one of the most common plant forms (deeply cut leaves) to make foliage ornament and decoration
• Bas-relief, sculpted material that has been raised from the background to create a slight projection from the surface
• Capital, the top of a column that supports the load bearing down on it
• Console, a decorative bracket support element
• Cornice, a molding or ornamentation that projects from the top of a building
• Cusped Arch, the point of intersection of two ornamental arcs or curves, such as the inner points of a trefoil
• Fluted, a long rounded groove
• Frieze, the horizontal part of a classical moulding just below the cornice, often decorated with carvings
• Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
• Plinth, flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests.

 

Esplanade Fountains

Location: Dunoon, Argyll & Bute, Scotland

On Marine Parade at Hunters Quay and Kirn there are two cast iron drinking fountain canopies. Although the canopy at Kirn has been restored both structures have lost original elements.

The structure at Hunters Quay is situated at James Street near Jim Crow Rock.
Three of four medallions are missing and the fourth contains a dedication shield. Only two of four original griffins remain, and the space beneath the canopy where the font once stood is empty.

Creative Commons License. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunters_Quay#/media/File:2008-08_-_Plum_Island_and_Cowal_Games_533.jpg

The Kirn fountain is located between Kirn Brae and Stewart Street.

Creative Commons License, Thomas Nugent. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirn,_Argyll#/media/File:Cast_iron_fountain_stand_-_geograph.org.uk_-_837994.jpg

Creative Commons, Roger Griffith. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kirn_seafront_%26_Victorian_cast_iron,_Argyll_%26_Bute,_Scotland.jpg

Photographs of the original structure show elements that are now missing such as griffins on each corner of the canopy, the finial at the top of the dome, and the font which has been replaced with a planter. A dedication plaque states, The Gift Of / The Directors / Of The Kirn Pier / 1877.

Creative Commons License, Roger Griffith. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kirn_seafront_%26_Victorian_cast_iron,_Argyll_%26_Bute,_Scotland.jpg

Within an image from 1899 the font beneath the canopy is #7 with a dog trough at ground level. Lion head medallions are visible and the structure terminates in a gas lamp finial.

By 1903 the font has been replaced with an enclosed pillar model.

The gas lamp holder no longer exists in 1907 and has been replaced with what appears to be the model of an owl. One of the lion medallions is missing.

Pictorial evidence between the years of 1907 and 1938 identifies that the structure remained to have a pillar font with owl finial atop the dome.

Circa 1916

Circa 1938

These drinking fountains, customized from design number 8 in Walter Macfarlane & Co.’s catalogue, were manufactured at the Saracen Foundry at Possilpark in Glasgow. The structure is 9 feet 6 inches high and consists of four columns, from the capitals of which consoles with griffin terminals unite with arches formed of decorated mouldings.

Rope moulded cartouches within each lunette host a lion mascaron and a dedication shield. On two of the sides provision was made for receiving an inscription using raised metal letters; whilst on the other two sides was the useful monition, Keep The Pavement Dry. Civic virtues such as temperance were often extolled in inscriptions on drinking fountains. The structure is surmounted by an open filigree dome, the finial was a gas lantern.

Under the canopy stood the font (design number 7) 5 foot 8 inches high. The terminal was a crane. The basin (2 feet 6 inches in diameter) which has a scalloped edge and decorative relief was supported by a single decorative pedestal with four pilasters and four descending salamanders, a symbol of courage and bravery. A central urn with four consoles offered drinking cups suspended by chains. The fountain was operated by pressing a button.

Symbolism was popular in Victorian times. Griffins are symbolic of guardians of priceless possessions, salamanders display bravery and courage that cannot be extinguished by fire, and cranes are recognized as a symbol of vigilance.

Glossary

• Capital: The top of a column that supports the load bearing down on it
• Cartouche, a structure or figure, often in the shape of an oval shield or oblong scroll, used as an architectural or graphic ornament or to bear a design or inscription
• Console: a decorative bracket support element
• Filigree, fine ornamental work
• Finial, a sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure
• Griffin, winged lion denotes vigilance and strength, guards treasure and priceless possessions
• Lunette, the half-moon shaped space framed by an arch, often containing a window or painting
• Mask/Mascaron, a decorative element in the form of a sculpted face or head of a human being or an animal
• Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
• Pilaster, a column form that is only ornamental and not supporting a structure
• Terminal, statue or ornament that stands on a pedestal

Island Cow Tailed Pumps

Location: St. Peter Port, Guernsey

This octagonal shaped ornamental cow-tailed pump at the junction of La Rue du Pre and Park St. in St. Peter Port is design #8 from the catalogue of George Smith & Co. An inscription on the base identifies the Sun Foundry as the manufacturer; George Smith & Co / Sun Foundry / Glasgow.

Source: http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/stpeterport.htm

A small trough set into the base of the structure was for the use of dogs. The single pillar with attic base hosts inset arched panels for dedication. Entablature with bolt consoles sits beneath an ogee cupola with alternate panels of fleur de lys motif. The pump handle and six sided glass pane lantern are missing; however, yoke maintenance arms that originally supported the lamp-lighter’s ladder are still in evidence. The lantern was capped with a ball and spike finial.

Source: http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/stpeterport.htm

Source: http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/stpeterport.htm

Source: http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/stpeterport.htm

As part of improvements to the town of St. Peter Port in February 1876, a triangular space named Trinity Square was created with trees, iron seats, and a double-sided pump also believed to be manufactured by the Sun Foundry.

Source: http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/stpeterport.htm

Slource: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/image_galleries/parish_pumps_gallery.shtml?9

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/image_galleries/parish_pumps_gallery.shtml?9

A hexagonal pedestal with attic base and inset arch panels contains a tap with bucket hook, a cow tail handle, and a lion head mascaron from which water spouted. Above the lion spout is an inscribed plaque; St. Peter Port / 1876 / J.A. Carey / F.H. Shortt / Constables. (Constables in the islands of Jersey and Guernsey are elected heads of the Parishes who enforce the decisions of the Parish.) Cursive scroll consoles support yoke maintenance arms which assisted the lamplighter to reach a gas lantern no longer in evidence.

Glossary

• Attic base, a column base with two rings
• Console, a decorative bracket support element
• Cupola, a small, domed structure on top of a roof.
• Entablature, moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns
• Finial, a sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure
• Mascaron, a decorative element in the form of a sculpted face or head of a human being or an animal
• Ogee, curve with a concave
• Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
• Yoke maintenance arms, the bars near the top of a street light which supported the lamplighter’s ladder