Abstract
APART from its interest to Londoners and its inherent aesthetic merit, the statue of Eros, surmounting the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus, London, has a scientific aspect. Originally unveiled in 1893, it is cast in aluminium alloy, the basal structure being of bronze. Its restoration, after a war-time exile, necessitated a thorough cleaning, the repair of a few defects, and the provision of a new bow and arrow. The work was entrusted by the London County Council to Mr. G. Friese Greene, of Messrs. Starkie Gardner, Ltd., of Southfields, craftsmen in metals, since the original makers are no longer in business. The cleaning was carried out with neutral soap and warm water, the surprising discovery being that there is no trace of corrosion arising from the past fifty years in the London atmosphere; with suitable care the original oxide film of the aluminium and the patina of the bronze have both been retained. The statue is actually cast in pieces, and the latter are threaded over a steel tree and swaged together, the joints being difficult to find. The hot forging and the cold hammering of the new bow and arrow showed that aluminium alloy can be a very useful metal for sculptors and is actually easier to work than stone. The experience with the restoration of Eros should give an impetus to designers to make more use of these 'modern metals'.
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Statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus, London. Nature 159, 870 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/159870c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/159870c0