ARTWORKS

An Elizabethan Mariner

Charles Thomas Wheeler (1892–1974)

College Green, Bristol City, Bristol

An Elizabethan Mariner
An Elizabethan Mariner
An Elizabethan Mariner
An Elizabethan Mariner
An Elizabethan Mariner
An Elizabethan Mariner
An Elizabethan Mariner
An Elizabethan Mariner
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© the artist's estate. Image credit: Paul Francis / Art UK

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Notes

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The statue gives no specific clue to the figure’s identity. Wearing the sixteenth century costume of a wealthy merchant, the bearded figure sways a little sideways, his weight on his left leg. In an attitude of contemplation, his right hand fingering his small beard, he holds a scroll of parchment with a suspended seal, suggesting a royal charter. His deeply pleated knee-length coat has a large collar and it is fur-trimmed, and the sleeves are slashed. From his belt hangs an astrolabe (an instrument for measuring the altitude of the sun and stars and a navigational aid). Turned-down boots and a supporting dolphin reinforce the figure’s seafaring role. The city’s arms are in low relief on his coat.
Title

An Elizabethan Mariner

Date

1952

Medium

Portland stone

Measurements

H 260 x W 85 x D 70 cm;
Plinth: H 150 x W (?) x D (?) cm

Accession number

BS1_PF_S002

Acquisition method

comissioned

Work type

Statue

Owner

Bristol City Council

Custodian

Bristol City Council

Work status

extant

Listing status

Grade II* (England and Wales)

Listing date

19/03/81

Access

at all times

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Located at

College Green, Bristol City

BS1 5TR

Situated under the central portico.

Artist or maker

Charles Thomas Wheeler

1892–1974

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