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Title:
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Sir Mark Cubbon
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Artist: |
Baron Carlo Marochetti
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For biographical details on Sir Mark Cubbon, see Wikipedia link.
Cubbon died on 23 April 1861. A plan to commemorate him was certainly well under way by the following August, when a meeting was held in the High School at Bangalore to decide on the fittest manner of perpetuating his memory. It was known that Cubbon had been averse to the idea of a statue being raised to him, and it was no doubt in obedience to his own wishes that proposals were put forward for more practical types of memorial: a hospital, within which there would be a bust, and a fountain with a statue of Cubbon on top of it. The objection raised to the fountain was that Indians of different castes would not use it. A Major Taylor pointed out that of the 24,000 rupees contributed to the fund, 21,000 were intended specifically for a statue, and a letter was read out from the Maharajah, who had been a major contributor, which stated that the "amount subscribed by me is intended for a statue and a statue alone". The Maharajah also stated that he was desirous of presenting a duplicate copy of the statue to the city of Mysore "in order that both the leading places in my dominions may possess a statue of the great man". Referring to an earlier equestrian statue by Sir Francis Chantrey, Major Taylor told the meeting that "the wish of the natives themselves is to perpetuate Mark Cubbon in Mysore in the same way as Sir Thomas Munro has been perpetuated in Madras". This was perhaps significant, in that it would have dictated to the sculptor a standing pose for the horse, as had been Chantrey's wont. Major Taylor summed up. "it appears to me that the fittest manner to perpetuate the memory of our great man is by a statue, (Hear) not an insignificant, second rate common place statue, but a noble work of art, by one of the greatest sculptors of the age (Hear, Hear, Hear)". The meeting was concluded with the resolution "that the joint committee of the memorial be empowered to order the statue from the sculptor they may select, the description of the statue to depend upon the amount of funds available for the memorial". (From a printed account of the meeting held in Bangalore, 16 August 1862, a copy of which is held in the Manx National Heritage Library, Douglas, Isle of Man)
No evidence has as yet come to light as to how the joint committee decided to give the commission to Marochetti. A contemporary, Maj. Gen. R.S. Dobbs, recounts that for his portrait of Cubbon, Marochetti used pictures of him done from the life by the talented amateur artist Major Martin. It was to this that Dobbs attributed what he considered Marochetti's success in creating a good likeness of his subject.
The statue appears to have had two unveilings. the first was on a granite pedestal in the middle of the parade ground in Bangalore. This, according to R.S. Dobbs, took place on 16 March 1866. It was unveiled again on 21 March 1868, two and a half months after Marochetti's death, in Cubbon Park, in front of the recently built grand secretariat building, known as the Attar Kacheri ('eighteen offices of departments').
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Material(s): |
Bronze
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Medium: |
Unassigned |
Finish: |
- |
Technique: |
Cast |
Genre: |
Portrait statuette (Equestrian)
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Location: |
Cubbon Park, Bangalore, Bangalore, Bangalore, India
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Colours: |
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Year: |
1867 |
Height: |
0 metres |
Width: |
0 metres |
Depth: |
0 metres |
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Key: |
2238 |
Acc. No.: |
2238 |
Col. No.: |
2238 |
Number of views: |
3568 |
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