City of London Dragon
Dragon- or gryphon-like creature in front of the English flag.
The history of the dragon statues:
From Wikipedia:
City of London DragonDragon- or gryphon-like creature in front of the English flag.The history of the dragon statues:
The boundaries of the historic core of London are marked by this dragon boundary marks at major entrances, originally to warn travellers and act as toll-booths. They are holding a shield which bears the City of London's coat of arms, painted in red and white. When the Queen goes to St Paul's she stops at Temple Bar (by one of the original dragon statue) before entering the City of London, so that the Lord Mayor may offer her the City's pearl-encrusted Sword of State as a token of loyalty.
From Wikipedia:
The dragon boundary marks are cast iron statues of dragons on metal or stone plinths that mark the boundaries of the City of London. The dragons are painted silver, with details of their wings and tongue picked out in red. The dragon stands on its two rear legs, with the right foreleg raised and the left foreleg holding a shield which bears the City of London's coat of arms, painted in red and white.
The design is based on two large dragon sculptures, 7 feet (210 cm) high, which were mounted above the entrance to the Coal Exchange on Lower Thames Street, designed by the City Architect, J.B. Bunning, and made by London founder, Dewer, in 1849. The dragons were preserved when the Coal Exchange was demolished in 1962-3. The two original statutes were re-erected on 6 feet (180 cm) high plinths of Portland stone at the western boundary of the City, by Temple Gardens on Victoria Embankment, in October 1963.
The Corporation of London's Streets Committee selected the statutes as the model for boundary markers for the city in 1964, in preference to the fiercer dragon by C.B. Birch at Temple Bar. Half-size replicas of the original pair of dragons were made by Birmingham Guild Limited and erected at main entrances to the City of London in the late 1960s.
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AuthorI've been working as graphic designer and desktop publisher for many years. In my spare time I draw portraits and illustrations, mostly for my own gratification. I learned the basics of fine art at art groups, camps, secondary school, but even so I profess myself as self-thought artist. I also participated in a preparatory year at the University of Applied Arts as a student of Geza M. Toth, the Oscar nominated Animation Director. Archives
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