The Brass Founders' Pillar, also known as the Brassfounders Column, is a monumental

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

History

The column was designed by James Gowans as the showpiece for the

Brassfounder A metalsmith or simply smith is a craftsperson fashioning useful items (for example, tools, kitchenware, tableware, jewelry, armor and weapons) out of various metals. Smithing is one of the oldest metalworking occupations. Shaping metal with a h ...

s' Guild of Edinburgh and Leith for the

International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art The International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art was a World's fair held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1886. Summary The exhibition was held in The Meadows. It was opened on 6 May by Prince Albert Victor and ran to 30 October, occupied 30 ...

, a

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

held in

in 1886. The statue at the top of the statue depicts

Tubal-cain Tubal-cain or Tubalcain ( he, תּוּבַל קַיִן – ''Tūḇal Qayīn'') is a person mentioned in the Bible, in , known for being the first blacksmith. He is stated as the "forger of all instruments of bronze and iron". A descendant of C ...

and was designed by John Stevenson Rhind. At the fair, the column won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. Following the fair, the monument was moved to Nicolson Square in Edinburgh, where it still stands. In 2008, the square and column underwent slight restoration.

Design

The monument consists of a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

base with a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

square shaft consisting of six tiers. Each tier shows a

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

. The bronze statue of Tubal-cain on top of the shaft is in reference to his description in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

as being the first metalsmith. A bronze

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pla ...

attached to the base reads:

References

External links

* * {{coord, 55.94604, -3.18538, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 1886 establishments in Scotland 1886 sculptures Buildings and structures completed in 1886 Monuments and memorials in Edinburgh Outdoor sculptures in Edinburgh

History

Design

See also

References

External links