Unrelated Pairs

This feature is about pairs of dog sculptures that — although similar in a lot of ways — are not in any way related.

The earlier one of the first pair is an Italian carved marble Greyhound lying on a black marble plinth. It is in a manner favored by many Greco/Roman sculptors throughout the centuries, and although there is no proof, one is inclined to think it is a portrait sculpture, for the bitch looks as if she is just off a litter of puppies. It sold at Bonhams in London for a price in the region of £13,000.

The second is a rare carved wood dog circa 1800 with original distressed paintwork. Although northern Europe in origin, it is carved in the manner of many Greco/Roman marbles and bronzes, lying as it does with its head held proud, the forelegs forward and the hind legs curled to one side of the body.

If the dog stood, it would be large, virtually life size to the Talbot Hound of old. That ancient breed acquired its name from the de Talbot family, who arrived in England from France with the Normans in the 11th Century. The breed’s name appears in English literature up to the 18th Century, and then it appears this ancient breed died out, probably in favor of the Foxhound, as hunting practices changed. The Talbot’s close relation today is the Bloodhound. The carving is with Anthony James & Sons Ltd., with expectations of £7,500.

Visitors to both the Finnish and English kennel clubs are greeted by life-size bronzes of two national breeds.

Standing guard outside the Finnish Kennel Club is the bronze modelled on Working and Show Ch. Santasepon Morrimoykky (Pani), bred by Erkki Santapukki and Seppo Laine. He was three times in the all-important national trials final in Finland, which carries with it the title “King of the Barkers,” and came in fourth once. From literally thousands of entries in the qualifying trails, only 13 dogs make it to the final.

The work of the Finnish Spitz is to locate capercaillie and black grouse in trees at a distance and bark to alert the sportsman of its find. In trials the number of barks per minute and the time the barking goes on for are all important. Exhibitors at shows who have been benched near Finnish Spitz will know all about the incessant barking.

Meeting and greeting at the English Kennel Club is the Foxhound Forager. When the original Kennel Club building was at 84 Piccadilly, the hound stood over the porch and became a landmark in the West End of London. The bronze was cast in 1925 from a model by army captain and famous animal sculptor Adrian Jones. Visitors to Hyde Park Corner in London will be familiar with his monumental Quadriga of Peace that stands on top of the Wellington Arch and was the largest public sculpture in Britain until Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North.

Forager was one of the prize Foxhounds of the Pytchley Hunt Kennels owned by Earl Spencer, great-grandfather of the late Princess Diana.

The two monumental statues stand on the grounds of two famous buildings in their respective countries, England and France. The English statue is on the grounds of grade 1-listed Lincoln Cathedral, the construction of which commenced in 1072; on completion in 1311 it was the tallest building in the world, a title it held until the spire collapsed in 1548.

The statue depicts the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson looking down at a small flower in his hand. By his side is his dog, Kerenina, given to him during a visit to Russia, a gift from the Russian Imperial family after a reading he gave to a group of royal visitors. It was sculpted by Tennyson’s friend, the sculptor George Frederick Watts, who was inspired by the poet’s poem “Flower in the crannied wall.”

In the Garden of Diana at the Palace of Fontainebleau is the imposing Fountain of Diana. Diana is represented at the hunt hastening forward, as if in the pursuit of game, a deer at her feet. One might have expected a dog, as other interpretations of the myth include Greyhounds. This is a bronze replica of a marble statue given by Pope Paul IV to Henry II of France in 1556. It was a subtle but inescapable allusion to the king’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers. The marble statue is now in the Louvre.

The bronze replica by Barthélemy Prieur was cast in 1605 and set upon a marble pedestal. The fountain incorporates bronze hunting dogs and stag heads spitting water, sculpted by Paris-born sculptor and architect Pierre Biard.

My final pair is based on legends. In the 13th Century, Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, his faithful hound, who was unaccountably absent. On Llewelyn’s return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The Prince, alarmed, hastened to find his son, and saw the infant’s cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood. The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound’s side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog’s dying yell was answered by a child’s cry. Llewelyn searched and discovered his son unharmed, but nearby lay the body of a mighty wolf that Gelert had slain. The Prince, filled with remorse, is said to have never smiled again.

According to legend, Gelert is buried just outside Beddgelert, and the statue was erected to mark the spot. Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story, and this story is a very old one, told over and over again in many different lands. Connecting the legend to Beddgelert to encourage tourism is ascribed to David Pritchard, landlord of the Goat Hotel in the village in the 18th Century, and to this day tourists visit Beddgelert to see the grave.

Fly, The Walking Dog of Kington (on the Marches that borders England and Wales), was sculpted by Rachel Ricketts and stands near the entrance to Kington museum. It represents a hound that has long haunted local traditional tales.

Hergest Court on the outskirts of Kington was home to the Vaughan family. Sir Thomas Vaughan, known as Black Vaughan, was the archetype wicked squire. During the War of the Roses he was killed at the Battle of Banbury in 1469. According to one version of events, he was decapitated, and suddenly his faithful black hound bounded across the blood-soaked ground, scooped up his master’s head and set off to Hergest Court.

His headless body was subsequently buried in the family vault, but his ghost remained at large, taking the form of a black bull that rampaged about the district accompanied by a fearsome black hound. So terrified did the inhabitants become they refused to leave their homes; it was therefore decided that an exorcism must be performed, and 12 priests were called and summoned forth Black Vaughan’s evil spirit.