Fascinating Fridays (List of Royal Statues)

The unveiling of the Empress Crystobel Memorial last week has inspired us to do a list featuring some of the major Royal and Imperial Statues that have been featured on this blog.

In 2013 the Duke of Swann visited Reichenthal and met up with his friend the Grand Duke at the Statue of the Imperial Eagle of Unification. The massive solid brass statue was originally intended as a gift from the people of Reichenthal to Emperor Christian and Empress Crystobel of the United Empire in 1995 but ended up never being delivered due to the Revolution. It now stands as a testament of Reichentalian craftsmanship but also as a haunting reminder of a bygone era and a very personal one for the Duke of Swann of his deceased aunt. 

The Empress Crystobel Memorial is erected on the site where the late Empress was assassinated in 2013. A previous Imperial Memorial was already on the spot and has since been removed for the new statue. Above is a photo of the old memorial which was a marble column surmounted by a stylized sculpted scene of the Empress and Emperor. 

The new Crystobel Memorial centers around a black dolomite column surmounted by a solid brass statue of an angelic Nike or Victory meant to symbolize the victory of Empress Crystobel's legacy against all odds.

The recently restored statue of Queen Crystobel I of Scotney is in the gardens of the Aldarian Palace.

This small statue of King Edward VII of Britania has its place of honour in the Cathedral of the Lion Heart in the Britanian capital.

This Statue of the IV Duke of Swann, the father of the present Duke is situated in the gardens of Duke's Court Palace. It was unveiled as part of the Duke's 15th Anniversary Celebrations.

This unusual dodecahedron statue belongs to the Duke of Swann and was ordered from Reichenthal by the Duke's grandfather. It was intended for the palace gardens but for unknown reasons stayed in Reichenthal and was hidden with many other treasures in a secret vault only to be discovered last year. It has since been delivered to Swann and has featured in a State Portrait of the Duke.

The 2012 Ladies Arcwhite Statue symbolizes the Office of the Ladies Arcwhite and not any one particular incumbent. 

On a recent visit to the Kingdom of Ophiri, the Duke of Swann was shown a traditional style sculpted head of Queen Ukulunghile's deceased. The sculpture was done by ethnic villagers according to the typical rural style of her country but still bore a remarkable likeness. 

The imposing Statue of the Angel of Prayer at the entrance to the Cathedral of the Lion Heart is world famous and has extreme religious and historical significance. It was those traits that saved the 600 year old work of art and the entire cathedral from destruction during the 1996 Revolution. The solid brass statue stands almost 5 meters tall from the base of its pedestal to the tips of its outstretched wings. In its hands, the angel holds two hanging incense bowls which symbolize the prayers of the faithful. People arriving at the doors of cathedral instinctively stop at the imposing statue and are reminded to direct the attention of their hearts and their prayers to God. Like incense the angel is believed to rise up into God's presence whereupon God then may receive our prayers like a sweet smelling aroma. During a coronation ceremony, the incumbent monarch traditional deliberately stops at the statue for a few seconds for this very purpose. 

Four gilded statues also have place of honour in the Cathedral of the Lion Heart's main hall. These four effigies are of what many consider to be the preeminent Biblical characters outside of Christ. The photo above depicts Moses. He carries a shepherd's crook as symbol of leadership and in his left hands the law of God stands for justice.

This war-like statue is of  King David like the life of David in the Bible, stands for courage and humility. 

The statue of John the Baptist symbolizes new beginnings and hope. 

Finally we see the Apostle Paul who based on the story of his life stands for God's love being open to all peoples and laying down one's life for that very principle. 

We hope this lesson in historic art and tradition was if nothing else beautiful to look at as all these statues are aside from their symbolic value also exceptional works of art.