Cornucopia - Leeds, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 47.777 W 001° 32.422
30U E 596142 N 5961844
This mural is on the side wall of a fish and chip shop near to the former corn exchange and was sponsored by the owners of the corn exchange when it was being renovated.
Waymark Code: WMQXPH
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/11/2016
Views: 1
At the time the Corn Exchange was being converted into a retail outlet and the mural was intended as a way of advertising the new use for the building.
It was painted by Graeme Wilson who is now well known to a wide public, especially in Leeds where his 'Cornucopia' mural by the Corn Exchange has become a familiar landmark since 1990, when it subsequently received the Leeds Award for Architecture and the Environment.
A cornucopia is a 'symbol of plenty consisting of a goat's horn overflowing with flowers, fruit, and corn'. The mural consists of a number of items either related to the exchange building or ideas related to plenty and or corn.
Not all the references in the mural are obvious but some of the details are as follows.
The top left shows a tower from an old market hall behind the corn exchange.
The are two classical type female figures that are not named, but at least one may depict Abundantia, Roman Goddess of Abundance, Good Fortune and Success.
In the middle of the mural are a couple of architectural details from the Corn Exchange - a stone carving of a cornucopia and part of a glass dome from the roof.
At the bottom left of the mural are a number of characters in Victorian costume, the period when the building was erected.
Next to them a construction worker in a hard hat may represent the renovation of the exchange.
To his right a cherub is emptying a bread basket, a figure associated with Abundantia.
There is also a possible farm working pointing at sheaves of corn, next to which is a pile of abundant produce.
To the right is an unknown female figure in modern dress who is holding something which may be a scythe.
City: Leeds
Location Name: Side wall of Crown Fisheries
Artist: Graeme Wilson
Date: 1990
Media: he 'Keim' system of silicate paints, an extremely durable conservation paint system on plaster
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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