Design for an unsuccessful competition entry by the sculptor John Charles Rossi to create the City monument to Admiral Lord Nelson in the Guildhall.

SPCAA/CR/1/3

John Charles Felix (1762 - 1839) Rossi, Sir Robert (1780 - 1867) Smirke

Pencil drawing on paper mounted on cardboard

The designed monument is an obelisk on a raised plinth. A bust of Lord Nelson rests on a pedestal on the plinth and is framed by a suit of armour and sword carved in releif on the obelisk behind. Two Victory angels stand on either side of the bust atop fluted columns, holding wreaths and palm branches. The left column features the word ‘Trafalgar,’ whilst the right column reads ‘Nile.’ Between them is the word ‘Nelson,’ encircled by a snake. On the far right of the drawing sits a female figure, wearing a helmet and holding a spear in her right hand and a disc in her left. Beside her and to the left stands another female, and on the far left is a seated male figure. Thre inset of the high podium on which the figures stand depicts a dying Nelson surrounded by other figures. Four small lions and two tridents, each encircled with a wreath, decorate the plinth. A note at the bottom of the drawing explains that a majority vote was carried in favour of another model.

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SPCAA/CR/1/4, SPCAA/CR/1/5, SPCAA/CR/2/3