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The Florentine Boar The Florentine Boar was cast in earthenware by William John Coffee in 1806, and was placed at the garden that existed on the original site and retained as an integral part of the Arboretum in 1840. |
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A scene from an early 20th century postcard (c 1914), a re-coloured print showing the Florentine Boar and its location in relation to the Orangery. |
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The same location in April 2003 Photograph © Christopher Harris April 2003 |
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The schoolboy in this photo is wearing a uniform worn by Reginald Street School children during the early 1900s. The Boar statue, created by William John Coffee in 1806, would be at least a 100 years old at the time this photo was taken. (note that part of one of the hind legs is missing) Photo courtesy of Derby Parks Dept. |
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The new Florentine Boar installed November 21 2005
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Two versions of a typical scene showing family groups visiting the Arboretum, possibly a Sunday outing. |
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| Above: courtesy of Derby Parks Dept. possibly the original B/W plate used for the postcard below. | |
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Above a postcard dated 1910, this is a re-coloured print used as a popular Derby Scene postcard during the early 1900s. Post card Courtesy of Stephanie Hitchcock Collection |
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The view taken from the same location (November 21 2005) Photo © Christopher Harris, November 2005 |
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The hollow earthenware Florentine Boar, damaged by the bomb that destroyed the Victorian Band stand in January 1941. This sculpture is the most important of the Arboretum's collection as it was personally donated by Joseph Strutt. It was created by W. J. Coffee at a tine when artists, poets and the gentry were visiting Europe as part of the new era of travel. Artists brought back examples of European art, of which many items ended up as copies in private collections in homes and gardens. W. J. Coffee sculpted his copy of the Florentine Boar, possibly as a commission, for Joseph Strutt's garden at Thorntree House at St. Peters Street in 1806, Strutt later had Loudon move it to the Arboretum as part of his wish to improve the artistic awareness of Derby's citizens. Old photographs courtesy of Derby Parks Dept. 2002. The original scanned photo of the headless boar is the only copy in existence. Thanks to Tony Griffin for trawling through the Parks Dept. dusty archives to locate this and other gems. |
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Local children posing for photos at the Florentine Boar |
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A child posing on the Arboretum's Florentine Boar statue (1926) Photo courtesy of Derek Palmer |
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Another child posing on the Arboretum's Florentine Boar in 1934 Photo courtesy of Derek Palmer |
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The Return of the Florentine Boar |
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Engineer/Sculptor Alex Paxton putting the finishing touches to his work |
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Television Coverage of the Boar's Return |
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BBC Television making a report for East Midlands News and BBC's Inside out series |
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Alex Paxton helping to guide the statue into position on its plinth at the Arboretum |
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The new statue waiting to be unveiled, November 21 2005 |
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Alex's signature on the statue's base |
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Councillor Hardial Dhinsa Unveiling the Boar |
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| Councillor Dhinsa praised the work faying that the return of the statue fulfills the wishes of the local and surrounding population of Derby. He further stated that as this is a copy of a historic statue located in Florence, Italy, it shows our strong historic links with that country and is representative of our partnership with the rest of Europe. | |
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