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Pugin in the library of his home, the Grange in Ramsgate, and cast in 1851, by his close friend and collaborator, the metalworker, John Hardman Jr. in his factory in Birmingham. The lion holds a banner with a motto that translates as 'Ready to Achieve', the motto of the Earls of Shrewsbury. Pugin remodelled large parts of Alton Towers for John Talbot, the 16th Earl, in the 1840s and 50s. The lion sculpture was made to be the top portion of a firedog or andiron that sat in front of the hearth and prevented logs from falling from the fire in the Grand Dining Room. Such was the significance of the lion design to Pugin that before it went to Alton Towers, Pugin showed it in his much celebrated Medieval Court at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851.  ","physicalDescription":"Sculpture in gilt-bronze of a lion rampant, the lion's face a mane richly carved in the mould with sharply undercut recesses. The legs are posed asymmetrically and its tail curls underneath its body under tension and up around to the front where, with the lion's front paws and extended claws, it grips a banner with the motto 'Prest d'Accomplir'.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"A.W.N. Pugin","id":"A8761"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""},{"name":{"text":"John Hardman Powell","id":"A8478"},"association":{"text":"modeller","id":"AAT25417"},"note":""},{"name":{"text":"George Myers","id":"A8684"},"association":{"text":"moulder","id":"AAT25305"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"John Hardman & Co.","id":"A9144"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"x40240"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"bronze","id":"AAT10957"},{"text":"gold","id":"AAT11021"}],"techniques":[{"text":"casting","id":"AAT53104"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Cast and gilt bronze","categories":[{"text":"Animals and wildlife","id":"THES250852"},{"text":"Crystal Palace","id":"THES252996"},{"text":"Great Exhibition","id":"THES48945"},{"text":"Heraldry","id":"THES257728"},{"text":"Metalwork","id":"THES48920"},{"text":"Sculpture","id":"THES48896"}],"styles":[{"text":"Gothic revival","id":"AAT21452"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2025PK7555","2025PK7558","2025PK7556","2025PK7557","2025PK7559","2025PG7283","2025PG7284","2025PG9234","2025PG9235","2025PG9236","2025PG9237","2025PG9238","2025PG9245","2025PG9244","2025PG9243","2025PG9242","2025PG9241","2025PG9240","2025PG9239"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"122F","id":"THES49220"},"free":"","case":"CA4","shelf":"","box":"60"}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Lion","id":"x34863"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"No","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Ramsgate","id":"x35031"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x29338"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"moulded","id":"x30076"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"Birmingham","id":"x28748"},"association":{"text":"cast","id":"x32615"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1851","earliest":"1851-01-01","latest":"1851-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[{"object":{"text":"E.1529-1912","id":"O719812"},"association":"Design"}],"creditLine":"This gift to honour the memory and legacy of Michael Whiteway has been made possible by the A. Alfred Taubman Foundation at the request of Ellen and Bill Taubman with support from the V&A Americas Foundation.","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"48.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"01/08/2025","earliest":"2025-08-01","latest":"2025-08-01"},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"15.4","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"01/08/2025","earliest":"2025-08-01","latest":"2025-08-01"},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"15.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"01/08/2025","earliest":"2025-08-01","latest":"2025-08-01"},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"29.90","unit":"kg","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"05/08/2025","earliest":"2025-08-05","latest":"2025-08-05"},"part":"","note":"Weighed in Metals Conservation"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"Prest d'Accomplir","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"Ready to Achieve","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"The motto of the Earls of Shrewsbury"}],"objectHistory":"The lion was designed by the pioneer of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival, A.W.N. Pugin and made in the Birmingham metalworking factory of his close friend and collaborator, John Hardman Jr. The initial modelling of the lion was most likely by John Hardman Powell, Hardman's nephew and Pugin's assistant and future son-in-law. The mould for casting the lion was later worked up (most likely in plaster) in the workshop of Pugin's builder, George Myers, and then sent to Hardman's factory in Birmingham for casting in bronze.\n\nThe lion, with its pair which is now in a private collection, was almost certainly shown in Pugin's Medieval Court at the Great Exhibition in 1851. Such was Pugin's rush to create a spectacular presentation, that he recalled items from earlier commissions or pressured his manufacturers to finish items that were in progress for showing in Hyde Park. In January 1851 he wrote instructions to Hardman listing, 'what I should think would do for the Exhibition' and itemised 'A standing grate with brass Lions on the Andirons - for the new Banqueting hall, Alton Towers'. Ever focussed on the detail, he went on to write, 'when things belong to particular places like Alton, I should say so.' The lion may have been sent to Alton Towers afterwards. Not everything was. A 3-metre-high iron stove made by Hardman and decorated with ceramic tiles by the Staffordshire pottery, Mintons, that was intended for the Earl of Shrewsbury never made it to Alton. The stove was dismantled after the exhibition and dispersed. \r\n\r\nIf the lion was at Alton it may have been among contents dispersed in 1857, five years after the death of the 2nd Earl. An inventory of the contents in 1869 showed the Banqueting Hall by then had 'Massive Gothic iron Fire Grates' with '4 brass chased Talbots' from the Shrewsbury arms. Indeed, Pugin's final designs for the fire tools for the Dining Room fireplace at Alton, which are among the V&A's Hardman drawings and are dated 1852, all have finials in the form of talbots rather than lions.\n\nThe lion's ownership history can be summarised as follows:\n\nCommissioned by John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, for the Grand Dining Hall at Alton Towers, Staffordshire, 1850\r\nCompleted and delivered to Alton Towers in November 1852\r\nThen by descent to Bertram Arthur Talbot, 17th Earl of Shrewsbury, until 1856\r\nScheduled to be auctioned by Messrs. Christie &amp; Manson, 6th July 1857, lot 2432, but withdrawn from the sale\r\nBy descent, collection of Charles Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury\r\nLikely dispersed with other house contents, 1st-3rd November 1918\r\nPossibly with the Fine Arts Society, London, 1970s\r\nCollection of Donald James Cooper, Congelow House, Yalding, Kent, probably acquired from the above dealers, ca. 1976-1977\r\nBy descent to his widow Marie Beatrix Cooper, until 2018\r\nGorringe's Auction, Lewes, East Sussex, 4th December 2018, lot 309.\r\nAcquired by Oscar Graf.\nPurchased by the V&amp;A with support from the A. Alfred Taubman Foundation.","historicalContext":"<b>The Lion:</b>\r\n\r\nThe lion is superbly modelled and cast in gilt bronze and although it was intended as the head of a firedog to be seen primarily from the front, is in fact, dynamically posed from all sides. The lion's face and mane were richly carved in the model with sharply undercut recesses that would have only been possible to cast in bronze in the most accomplished foundry. The legs are posed asymmetrically and its tail curls underneath its body under tension and up around to the front where, with the lion's front paws and extended claws, it grips the banner with the motto 'Prest d'Accomplir'. Although some of the gilding has been worn away, the richness of the bronze alloy still gives the lion a very striking presence and the whole composition creates a lively sense of strength and movement. \r\n\r\n<b>Designer and Maker:</b>\r\n\r\nThe lion was made in 1851 from one of the later designs by the pioneer of the Gothic Revival, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. Pugin's career trajectory had been meteoric since the early 1840s, and he was at the height of his creative powers when illness overwhelmed him and brought an early end to his life in 1852 when he was 40. The lion was made by the great Birmingham metalworkers, John Hardman &amp; Co. John Hardman Jr shared both a close friendship with Pugin and strong devotion to Catholicism. Their collaboration, for church,  domestic and institutional iron, brass, silver and electroplate between 1838 and 1852 set the benchmark for high-quality Gothic revival metalwork around the world. \r\n\r\nPugin first designed a variation of this lion firedog for John Somers-Cocks, 2nd Earl Somers at Eastnor Castle in 1849. The firedogs are still at the castle in one of the most spectacular Pugin interiors to survive. Pugin's drawing from the same period for the fireplace at Eastnor has been in the V&amp;A's collection since 1912 and shows the lions holding flags rather than banners (Museum no. E.1529-1912).\r\n\r\nAs was customary for Pugin, he would design commissions for patrons in such a way that they could be adapted for re-use and for commercial sale by Hardman. The banner inscription on the lion ('Prest d'Accomplir') was the motto of the Earls of Shrewsbury. John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury was Pugin's most valued client. A fellow Catholic he commissioned Pugin to remodel Alton Towers in Gothic Revival style from the mid-1840s. This commission was of enormous importance to Pugin. As his health failed from 1851 and his doctors urged retirement he refused to give up work on three projects: the new Palace of Westminster, the Medieval Court at the Great Exhibition and Alton Towers. \r\n\r\n<b>Design:</b>\r\n\r\nThe inspiration for the lion came from medieval heraldry, in particular stone architectural details and carved wooden newel posts. Pugin created both firedogs and newel posts using similar poses and adapted them according to the heraldry of the individual patron. At Bilton House in Warwickshire, the home of John Hubert Washington Hibbert, the newel posts in the form of wild boar are posed the same way and support similar banners.\r\n\r\nThe Shrewsbury lion was intended for the Grand Dining Room at Alton. Among the collection of 703 drawings Pugin sent to Hardman that the V&amp;A acquired in 2023, are several dating from 1852 for fire tools and fixtures and fittings at Alton Towers. The lion is not among these, perhaps because Hardman already had the design required. On Tuesday 6th August 1850, Pugin wrote to his metalworker, 'I enclose you the plan &amp; character of the grates for Alton Dining room. I should take - The iron work of Dogs &amp; Lions from L. Somers grate - &amp; the bars should be on the same principle &amp; as strong as Captain Hibberts.'\n\r\nThe modelling of the lions was not without problems. Pugin, sharing his library in his home at the Grange in Ramsgate with Hardman's nephew, John Hardman Powell - who became Pugin's protégé and, later, son-in-law - had earlier expressed frustration with their development in a manner that suggests several hands at play in their modelling. 'Powell is so obstinate. I wanted him to have one of Myers men to cast the models. He assured me he understood it. I could have done it better myself. You never saw such a mull. It was the same thing with Lord Somers grate. We should have saved pounds if the Lion had been carved at first. He messed about at it for nearly 2 weeks. Had my carver who I give 10s a day working at it besides - &amp; in the end produced a beastly mould you could not work from.' (Pugin to Hardman, Ramsgate, Thursday 7th February 1850)\r\n\r\nPugin's rampant lion design lived on after his death in the architectural work of his lesser-known but highly influential son, Edward Welby Pugin. Soon after Pugin died, his son remodelled the north side of the family home, the Grange, to offer a more welcoming town-side entrance once the anti-Catholic residents of Ramsgate had stopped attacking the house. Lions with a very similar pose, carrying a banner with the Pugin family motto, 'En Avant', were placed on top of the gateposts where they remain to this day. \r\n\r\n<b>The Acquisition for the V&amp;A:</b>\r\n\r\nIn 2025 the V&amp;A exhibition, 'Makers of Modern Gothic: A.W.N. Pugin and John Hardman Jr' (6th February to 26th October 2025) in the Julie and Robert Breckman Galleries showed selections from a major acquisition by the V&amp;A in 2023 of 703 drawings sent by Pugin to his metalworker, John Hardman Jr, between 1838 and 1852. Also included in the show was an album of 500 drawings Pugin sent to his builder, George Myers, during the same period that the museum acquired the following year. These acquisitions, supported by a variety of funders, added significantly to the V&amp;A's existing holdings of Pugin material, making the museum one of the most important repositories of Pugin designs globally. \r\n\r\nPugin is in the V&amp;A's DNA. The exhibition included works in metal and ceramic that were made from the designs, some of which were shown at the Great Exhibition and acquired in the earliest days of the museum directly on Pugin's recommendation. The lion dates from this time when Pugin's career was at its climax and his infleucen was at its greatest iny to be cut short by his premature death the following year.\r\n\r\n<b>In Memory: </b>\r\n\r\nThe lion sculpture was purchased by the V&amp;A from the art dealer, Oscar Graf, in 2025 with a donation from the A. Alfred Taubman Foundation in memory of  Michael Whiteway (1948-2024). Whiteway was one of Britain's leading decorative arts experts in post-1850 design, specialising in the Gothic Revival, Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts movements. Highly respected for his scholarship and integrity, for most of his 50-year career he was director of Haslam &amp; Whiteway, with retail premises on London's Kensington Church Street. Working with international collectors and curators, Michael helped to build collections including that of the late John Bryan II and John Scott. He advised or sold objects to most major design museums, including an A.W.N. Pugin table and cabinet and an Alma-Tadema armchair to the V&amp;A; he also gifted several objects to the V&amp;A, such as a table designed by E.W. Godwin. Michael curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions, including 'Christopher Dresser: A Design Revolution' (V&amp;A 2004; Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, 2005) and was the author of several seminal books, notably, with Charlotte Gere, 'Nineteenth-Century Design: From Pugin to Mackintosh' (1993).","briefDescription":"Lion sculpture from a firedog, gilt bronze, designed by A.W.N. Pugin, probably modelled initially by John Hardman Powell and later carved in the workshop of George Myers, London, cast by John Hardman &amp; Co., Birmingham, c. 1851, Inscribed: 'Prest d'Accomplir', the motto of John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury.","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Limited edition","id":"THES48862"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[{"text":"Alton Towers","id":"x31115"}],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"'Makers of Modern Gothic: A.W.N. Pugin and John Hardman Jr'\nJulie and Robert Breckman Galleries, V&amp;A South Kensington, 04 February - 26th October 2025\nLion acquired and put on show on 12th September 2025\n\n'Finial from a Firedog\r\n1851\r\n\nThis magnificent lion has just joined the V&amp;A's collection. It originally topped one of a pair of large firedogs (protective guards) in the dining room fireplace at Alton Towers, home of John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury. Talbot's family motto on the scroll translates as 'Ready to Achieve'. Pugin showed the lion at the Great Exhibition. \n\nGilt bronze\nDesigned by A.W.N. Pugin and made by John Hardman &amp; Co., Birmingham.\r\nThis gift to honour the memory and legacy of Michael Whiteway has been made possible by the A. Alfred Taubman Foundation at the request of Ellen and Bill Taubman with support from the V&amp;A Americas Foundation.\nMuseum no. M.28-2025'","date":{"text":"12/09/2025","earliest":"2025-09-12","latest":"2025-09-12"}}],"partNumbers":["M.28-2025"],"accessionNumberNum":"28","accessionNumberPrefix":"M","accessionYear":2025,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-02-13","recordCreationDate":"2025-08-01","availableToBook":false}}