Between 1865 and 1884 (Paris World's Fair in 1867?)
Polychrome enamelled earthenware
Dimensions not provided
Royal Pump Room Museum - Harrogate
© Royal Pump Room Museum
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Collection of Doctor Titus Deville (1827 - 1902).
Donation of the fountain to the Royal Baths of the town of Harrogate by Doctor Titus Deville between 1897 and 1898. It was placed in the center of the water distribution room at the baths.
In 1991, the fountain was moved to the Royal Pump Room Museum in Harrogate.
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Large fountain in enamelled earthenware with a deep blue glaze, originally composed of three tiers and resting on a trefoil base animated by three Nereids, each riding a dolphin. The various elements are adorned with rich painted decoration of scrolling foliage and plant interlacings in a Neo-Renaissance style. The sculpted figures, of high-quality execution, were created by a sculptor whose identity remains unknown.
A similar fountain was presented by Auguste Jean at the 1867 Paris World's Fair. Descriptions preserved in catalogues, archives, and the press allow this work to be associated with the one exhibited on that occasion, without, however, allowing it to be identified with certainty, as Auguste Jean produced several monumental fountains during his career, of which only two have survived to this day.
The fountain is incomplete today, with at least one of its tiers having disappeared. It is nevertheless documented by several old photographs. It appears, notably, in the interior of the physician and hygienist Titus Deville, at his home at 11 Parliament Street in Harrogate, and subsequently after its donation to the Royal Baths of Harrogate, inaugurated in 1897. These photographs constitute a precious record of this monumental creation, which allows for the restoration, despite its fragmentary preservation today, of part of its original appearance and setting.
