Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
City Rooms, façade: 'Lyric Muse' / 'Dancing' (niche statue) Photograph
Region ID | EM | |
Work ID | 92 | |
Manual Reference | LE099TCBMAY | |
Title | City Rooms, façade: 'Lyric Muse' / 'Dancing' (niche statue) | |
Sculptor | Bingley, John | |
Sculptor | Rossi, John Charles Felix | |
Date of design | ||
Year of unveiling | 1800 | |
Unveiling details | ||
Road | Hotel Street | |
Precise Location | In a niche on the façade of the City Rooms, at 1st floor level to the left of the entrance bay | |
A to Z Ref | 4 C4 (1) | |
OS Ref | SK860044 | |
Postcode | LE1 6ZG | |
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | I | |
Duty of Care | Leicester City Council | |
Commissioned by | ||
Notes | ||
The statue stands in a round-headed niche framed within an aedicule, the frieze of which is decorated with four paterae and at the corners trusses decorated with 'medieval' female faces. The figure, dressed all'antica, plays upon a tambourine, her right knee bent as if moving to the pulse of the music. It was Nichols, writing shortly after the erection of the building, who first identified the two niche figures as the 'Comic and Lyric Muses'. (2) Gunnis, however, refers to them as '"Music" and "Dancing"'. (3) If Nichols is correct, then this figure must be the Lyric Muse (Erato), whose attribute the tambourine is. Alternatively, Gunnis's designation of the two figures would plausibly make this one 'Dancing' and its companion with the more melodic lyre, 'Music'. | ||
circa | ||
raw year | 1800 | |
Condition | Good | |
At risk | Not at risk | |
Inscriptions | None | |
Signatures | - in incised Roman capitals on front of oval base to statue: ROSSI & BINGLEY | |
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
statue | artificial stone, painted | h. 168 cm (est.) |
tambourine | metal | |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character
Detail | Comment |
|---|---|
Accretions | dirt (?soot) in crevices and hollows |
Other | paint surface flaking |
Structural Condition
Structural Condition | Comment |
|---|---|
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes | horizontal fissure at height of hips (just below tunic) may be join between upper and lower sections. |
