Liverpool

How big is the statue?

'Liverpool' is 12 tons of fine white Chinese marble. She is 310cm/10ft tall and 255cm/8.3ft wide at the base.

The piece of marble she was originally cut from weighed 41 tonnes - the statue is basically a pyramid shape (wide at the bottom and narrow at the top) and cutting it produced a lot of wastage.

'Liverpool' sits on top of the Walker, National Museums Liverpool's art gallery in Liverpool city centre.

What does 'Liverpool' show?

The statue is larger than life-sized and shows a seated woman. She represents the city of Liverpool. Around her are symbols associated with the city:

bales of cotton. In the 18th and 19th centuries Liverpool was the port through which huge quantities of raw cotton were imported into the country. They were processed in Lancashire and Yorkshire, and then re-exported to the world through the port. Cotton helped make Liverpool wealthy
a propeller and a trident represent the city's links with the sea
a palette with paint brushes and a set-square show the growing city's cultural side
her crown looks like a medieval fort and may have referred to Liverpool's famous but long gone castle
on the cotton bale sits the famous Liver bird that is featured on the city's coat of arms.

'Liverpool' represents the city's pride in its wealth, culture and history.

Why is 'Liverpool' shown being lifted by a crane?

The statue 'Liverpool' Because the 'Liverpool' in the picture is a new statue. It replaced an older version of the same statue that had fallen into disrepair. The picture shows the new 'Liverpool' being lifted into place on top of the Walker in 1995.

The sculptor, John Warrington Wood, created the original statue in 1877. It was commissioned and paid for by Andrew Barclay Walker to sit on top of the new art gallery he was building for Liverpool Town Council.

The original 'Liverpool' was 12-tonnes of finest Italian marble. She was carved in Rome and then transported to Liverpool.

first she was dragged on rollers through the streets of Rome. It took about 4 days to get the statue to the railway station
then the statue was packaged in an enormous wooden case and moved by rail to Leghorn (Livorno - an Italian port)
from Livorno she was taken by steamboat to Liverpool
next she was moved from the dock to the gallery (up a hill!)
the final stage involved raising 'Liverpool' into place on top of the Walker. This took a further 3 days.

How was the original statue damaged?

From the moment the original 'Liverpool' was put in place in 1877 she was under attack from:

atmospheric pollution. The gases produced by burning coal, gas and oil mix with rainwater. This produces weak acid solutions which dissolve marble
as Liverpool is near the sea there is salt in the air. This also attacks the marble

This resulted in the white Italian marble quickly turning black, and the statue lost its fine detail.

The statue's poor condition was first noticed in 1920 but nothing was done until 1992. By this time 'Liverpool' was seriously weakened and her surface had become a "sugary mass". Staff at the National Conservation Centre came up with the following options for dealing with the statue's problems:

do nothing. The marble was so weak that large pieces could fall off and hurt passers-by
strengthen the statue. It could be hardened with resin but the results are not always good and may not last very long
replacement. The statue could be replaced with a fibreglass copy, weighted down to stop it being blown away. However, this might damage the original

It was decided that replacement was the best option, but that a marble copy could be made instead of a fibreglass one. This had several advantages:

from the ground the new sculpture would look exactly the same as the original
marble is usually longer lasting than man-made materials, especially if given a protective coating and regularly cleaned
the sculpture is an important part of the building's design therefore, replacing the original statue with a marble copy was felt to be essential.

Photographs from 1922 showed how 'Liverpool' looked while she was still in good condition, and it was decided that a marble copy could be made from this information.

How was 'Liverpool' copied?

First the surface of the damaged statue was coated with a protective layer of resin. Then missing sections were remodelled using plasticine. By carefully measuring the statue, and by studying photographs, it was possible to create a 3D computer model of the statue. This information was sent to China where a rough version of the statue was carved out. Once this had been approved four carvers set to work, and within nine months had nearly finished the new statue.

She was then shipped to Liverpool with her raised arm still in a thick, rough state. This protected the fragile arm during transport. The final touches were made in England, and the aluminium parts (e.g. the trident) were added.

Protective coatings applied to the new 'Liverpool', and regular cleaning should reduce the effects of pollution in the future.

You can learn about modern methods of replication/copying here.