Simone Donatello
Site: 193 Fleet Street - Kaled and 8 great artists (9 memorials)
EC4, Fleet Street, 193
Building erected in 1883 by George Attenborough for his jewellery and pawn-broking business, Attenborough and Sons. Architects: Archer and Green. The pawnbrokers' motto "Sub hoc [signo] floresco", "under this sign I flourish", is inscribed immediately below the paws of the two winged lions on the second floor, and we can guess that the sign, the 3 gold balls, would have hung from the ornate post between the lions. But "signo" has been omitted from the motto here. The PMSA says that the sculptural work is carved into red sandstone, rather than moulded with terracotta, as one might think at first.
Ornamental Passions have provided much of this information and London Street Views has all there is to know about these Attenboroughs.
The 8 first floor spandrels on the Chancery Lane frontage each have a roundel portrait head. We have listed these left to right. Mainly Italian sculptors - possibly they were chosen by the Italian sculptor who created Kaled. We can find no record of who created any of the sculptural work on this building, other than Kaled herself.
