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More Smithsonian Searches     Who else has...     Unknown,     Figure male -- Full length     Ethnic -- Greek     State of Being -- Other     Occupation -- Domestic     Object -- Other     Outdoor Sculpture -- Virginia -- Lynchburg     Fountain     Sculpture

Water Bearer, (sculpture). Artist:  Unknown, sculptor. Title:  Water Bearer, (sculpture). Other Titles:  Water Carrier, (sculpture). Dates:  Original sculpture ca. 1879. Recast sculpture ca. 2015. Medium:  Original sculpture: zinc, painted. Original base: metal, painted. Recast sculpture: bronze. Dimensions:  Original sculpture: approx. 80 x 34 x 11 in.; Original base: approx. 62 x 30 x 30 in. Inscription:  unsigned Description:  A figure of a Greek enslaved individual carrying a two-handled water urn on his proper left shoulder. With is proper left hand he supports the bottom of the urn. He walks with his proper left foot forward, his proper right hand reaching over his head, almost touching the urn. The figure is bare chested and wears a headdress, short tunic, and leg chains. The sculpture is painted grey and is mounted upon a decorated flared base, set upon an octagonal shaped two-part lower base atop the roof over the old Clay Street Reservoir. The sculpture originally functioned as a fountain. Subject:  Figure male -- Full length Ethnic -- Greek State of Being -- Other -- Enslaved Occupation -- Domestic -- Water Carrier Object -- Other -- Container Object Type:  Outdoor Sculpture -- Virginia -- Lynchburg Fountain Sculpture Owner:  Administered by City of Lynchburg, Water Department, P. O. Box 60, Lynchburg, Virginia 24504 Located Clay Street Reservoir, 7th & Clay Streets, Lynchburg, Virginia Remarks:  The Clay Street Reservoir was built in 1828 and was filled with water on July 18, 1829. Fifty years later the sculpture of the Water Bearer was ordered from a catalog in commemoration of the day the reservoir was operational. The earliest references to the sculpture in the local literature date from the 1880s. In 2012, the sculpture toppled over and shattered into pieces. The pieces were stored in the basement of the city's water department awaiting the decision whether to restore or to recast the work. The sculpture was later recast in bronze using a mold made from the broken pieces. The recast bronze sculpture was finished in 2015, and will be installed near the James River. The broken pieces of the original zinc sculpture will remain at the city water department. IAS files contain a related article from The News & Advance (Lynchburg, VA), Nov. 6, 1994, pg. B8, and an article from the Washington Post, July 24, 2015, detailing the recasting of the sculpture. References:  Save Outdoor Sculpture, Virginia survey, 1995. Washington Post, July 24, 2015. Illustration:  Image on file. Note:  The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide. Repository:  Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 Control Number:  IAS VA000520   Copy/Holding information Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum Control Number   Inventory of American Sculpture VA000520 Add Copy to MyList Format: HTMLPlain textDelimited Subject:   Email to:

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