South Terrace Fountain of Pluto and Proserpine - Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, UK
Posted by: Dragontree
N 51° 50.523 W 000° 56.230
30U E 642105 N 5745482
This magnificent fountain can be seen on the South Parterre of Waddesdon Manor. This valuable and important collection is attributed to Ferdinand de Rothschild and is maintained by The National Trust with the Rothschild Charity today.
Waymark Code: WMA3WH
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/12/2010
Views: 4
The North Front and South Terrace fountains were originally one piece which was made for the ducal Palace at Colorno, near Parma. It was sculpted by Guiliano Monza in about 1700.
Today the South Fountain depicts marble figures with Pluto and Proserpine on a shell. Infant tritons are shown riding winged horses around them with more tritons and sea creatures holding conch shells. The fountain was Grade II Listed on 29th January 1985.
Wikipedia describes Proserpine:
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'Proserpina (sometimes spelt Proserpine, Prosperine or Prosperina) is an ancient Roman goddess whose story is the basis of a myth of Springtime. Her Greek goddess' equivalent is Persephone. The probable origin of her name comes from the Latin, "proserpere" or "to emerge," in respect to the growing of grain. Proserpina was subsumed by the cult of Libera, an ancient fertility goddess, wife of Liber and is also considered a life–death–rebirth deity.
She was the daughter of Ceres, goddess of agriculture and crops and Jupiter, the god of sky and thunder.'