A lead fountain is a garden water feature made of cast lead, which may take the form of a figure, mask, bowl, wall spout or tiered basin from which water flows or sprays. Lead has long been prized for garden use because it is easy to cast in detail, resistant to corrosion and weathers to a soft silvery grey.
Lead garden sculpture became fashionable in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when workshops in London, such as those of John van Nost and later John Cheere, produced figures, urns and fountain groups for formal gardens. Popular fountain subjects include cherubs with dolphins or fish, classical figures, masks and shells. Lead fountains were revived in the Victorian and Edwardian periods and remained popular with Arts and Crafts garden designers, and many twentieth-century examples were made by specialist foundries. Collectors look for crisp casting, a natural surface patina and evidence of genuine age and weathering. Lead is soft, so figures may sag or crack over time and often need internal supports. Because of the metal's toxicity, lead fountains should be used only for ornamental water and should be handled with appropriate care.
