Stock No: 13526

A rare Bronze Fountain Group attributed to David Rawnsley (1909- 1977).
Sculptor, Painter, Ceramicist, Film Art Director & Production Designer.

A delightful, unique and beautifully sculpted Fountain of an entwined Mermaid & Merboy resting on rocks by the sea, both are twin tailed. The Merboy holds a large fish from whose mouth a water spout falls into the clam shell beneath. There is another water spout emanating from the abalone shell held above his head. The Mermaid is holding the clam shell in which lies a large starfish. A crab, a lobster and an octopus are climbing the rock beneath and nearby are limpets and coral.

Mermaids & Merboys are legendary figures appearing throughout the centuries in the folklore of many cultures and traditionally could symbolise either danger or good fortune. This pair are of course beneficent. English, circa 1960.

Notes: David Rawnsley was in his own words 'a jack of all trades'. Initially trained as an architect and engineer he entered the film industry in his early twenties as an art director & production designer. Film credits include: 49th Parallel, One of Our Aircraft is Missing, They Flew Alone and In Which We Serve. In the 40's and 50's he started up a series of potteries. The first in Paris was followed by the famous Chelsea Pottery in London in 1952 and later by one in the Bahamas and another in Mexico. His sister Una Hanbury (1904 – 1990) was a renowned Washington sculptor of horses and Rawnsley himself became an acknowledged artist and sculptor. His parents had settled the Rawnsley family on the Isle of Capri in the 1920's and in later years he set up a studio there. During a short visit in 1977 he died of a heart attack and he is buried on the Island. One of his last bronze sculptures, that of a young maiden made in 1972, is mounted on his grave.

Link to: Antique, old vintage fountains, sculptures, garden furniture and statuary