Photographs of Tomaso Sani statue, 'We won', 1988 / by the Centennial Park Trust, 9 March 1988

PXE 1531

fonds

9 March 1988

Graphic Materials, Photographs

902302

1 folder (2 photographs) - 29 x 24 cm. - colour

Tomaso Sani (1839-1915), sculptor, was born in Florence, Italy. He trained as a sculptor's pointing assistant and migrated to Melbourne in the late 1870s. In May 1882 Sani was engaged by the colonial architect and to do the relief figures on the spandrels of the Pitt Street façade of the new General Post Office. He was commissioned in 1891 by Sir Henry Parkes to cast 'Footballer' in bronze for Centennial Park. (Source: ADB)

Graeme Sturgeon in his book: The Development of Australian Sculpture, 1788-1975 (Thames and Hudson, 1978) describes “We Won” as one of Sani’s most important works. The life-sized figure, dressed in a woollen cap, sweater and tight knee-length trousers worn by football players of the day.

The figure stands upon a cylindrical pedestal which is decorated with high relief panels, the whole standing on a granite base atop a series of steps which are in turn surrounded by a chain held up by eight small seated lions.

The bronze pedestal shows eight scenes of a match in progress, played, not as might be expected by muscular men, but by hordes of tiny putti. The scenes of the match are separated by four large female cherubs. The first is enthusiastically trumpeting the beginning of the match, the second recording the score, the next inviting attention of the spectator and the last standing victoriously with the lion-skin of Hercules cast around her head and shoulders.

The statue, relief panels and eight lions are all constructed from bronze. The plinth is a polished granite, the steps at the immediate base of the statue are of sandstone and the outer steps near the lions are constructed from trachyte.

(Source: Centennial Parklands website)

In 1988 the statue was restored by the Eastern Suburbs Junior Rugby League and the Centennial Park Trust. One of the photographs show Mr. David Kirby of the Centennial Park Trust and Mr. Jack Hartley of the Eastern Suburbs Junior Rugby League taken at the unveiling ceremony on 9th March, 1988.

Copyright status:: In copyright - created after 1955
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and courtesy Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust (Trust)
Copyright restrictions may apply: The Trust has allowed the photographs to be reproduced.

Pic.Acc. Upgrade Project - Information transferred from Pic.Acc.6632 as part of the eRecords Project 2012-13

Good condition