Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain (Anteros) is a sculpture depicting a winged, almost completely naked young man with a bow. In the intention of the creator, sculptor Alfred Gilbert, this is the Angel of Mercy - a symbol of Christian charity. The monument is dedicated to Anthony Ashley Cooper - a politician, philanthropist and social activist, who led to the adoption in 1847 of the Act on a 10-hour work day.

Alfred Gilbert was a valued sculptor, goldsmith and passionate about experiments in the field of metallurgy. Built in 1893, the fountain is the first monument in the world made of aluminum. The prototype of the figure depicted on the monument was 16-year-old Angelo Colarossi - Gilbert's assistant.

Commonly, though mistakenly, she is called Eros or Anteros - in Greek mythology he was the brother of Eros, a symbol of mutual love or revenge for betrayed love. Gilbert explained that his Anteros personifies "reflective and mature love, unlike Eros or Cupid, a frivolous tyrant."