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Design for the Naval Pillar
DOI link for Design for the Naval Pillar
Design for the Naval Pillar
Original Image Dimensions 18"x24"
Source The Duncan Wu Collection
Description In 1798 a committee convened by the Duke of Clarence, Parliament, and the government,
announced a competition to design a monument to honour the achievements of the Royal
Navy. In February 1800 Gillray published a design of his own. At the summit of his
pillar, Britannia holds Victory in the palm of her hand—though the lion at her side
holds a globe showing ‘le Mer’. From the sides of the pillar hang republican
soldiers, their daggers dripping with blood; the wooden shoes of a sailor; sextants
and other nautical devices; a French flag bearing the word Egalité; and the
decapitated figure of Libertas. The plinth, supported by Fortitude and Justice,
reads: ‘To Perpetuate the Destruction of the Regicide Navy of France, and the
Triumph of the British Flag’.
