Nymph Returns to Carlos Place

The statue of a Nymph that stood outside the Connaught Hotel in Carlos Place, Mayfair has returned.

This somewhat clumsy piece had been removed to allow the installation of the magnificent new Tadao Ando water feature. It's old plinth now stands in Mount Street Gardens. This week the nymph returned to squat in Carlos Place.

The statue is by Emilio Greco and dates to 1973. The inscription reminds us that the fountain and statue were "‘A gift to the City of Westminster from the President of the Italian Republic 20th November 1987. Sponsored by the Italian Banks in London". The good people at London Remembers tell me that an identical statue is located in Padua.

The statue certainly looks happier on it's new marble plinth but somehow it seems to detract from the Ando just a few feet behind.

The Ando fountain, Silence,  was bound to overshadow anything in it's immediate proximity, so perhaps the nymph should have travelled just a few yards further, together with it's old plinth, to Mount Street Gardens?

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London's Newest and Most Beautiful Water Feature?

The fountain and statue that recently stood in Carlos Place, opposite the Connaught Hotel, have had a dramatic upgrade.

Outside the Connaught now, is this!

The kidney shaped infinity pool in the background has replaced the old fountain. The mirror smooth surface of the water plays across glass lenses. The materials and finish are absolutely immaculate.

For most of the time the water calmly trickles serenely over the edge but periodically vents around the two trees, encircled by the pool, begin to emit a beautiful mist. And then this happens:

It is  surprising, exciting and relaxing all at once, quite the most beautiful water feature I think I have ever seen. My video doesn't do it justice and I hear that when it is lit up at night it looks even better.

The work is by Tadao Ando, one of Japan's most respected architects, and a man often referred to as "the world 's greatest living architect." The piece is entitled "Silence". It has been jointly commissioned by the Connaught Hotel, The Grosvenor Estate and Westminster City Council.

Previously the site had been home to another fountain and a statue of a nymph. Both were ""‘A Gift to the City of Westminster from the President of the Italian Republic 20th November 1987. Sponsored by the Italian Banks in London"

The statue of a nymph will shortly be returning to the new plinth you can see in front of the fountain. Whilst the original  base of the fountain is now in nearby Mount Street Gardens.

 

The original statue is by Emilio Greco and dates to 1973. 

More on Tadao Ando here. Is this his only London work?

I will post again, after the official unveiling, when the statue is in place and the ensemble is complete