Fountain of four seasons

“Christian Petersen created the Fountain of the Four Seasons in 1941 for Iowa State University. The carved limestone and terra cotta artworks for the fountain have been an icon for the university for over 80 years.  Unfortunately, given Iowa’s harsh winter climate, the original clay type used in the fabrication of the originals caused deterioration in the fountain setting.   In 2023 the original artworks were preserved indoors and a search conducted for a company to  fabricate new terra cotta elements.  No US based company was willing to develop a color matched, through- body clay and to replicate the hand formed qualities of the originals.

Fortunately, Darwen Terracotta Limited took on the challenge.  Located in Blackburn, Lancashire, UK,  Darwen Terracotta provided a range of color matched,  through-body clay samples based on the originals, allowing for the selection of an excellent, like color.  The terra cotta relief sculptures, with fine hand modeling and tooling patterns, as well as the irregular quality of the hand formed caps and spills were replicated through collaboration with Conserve ART LLC.   The original relief sculptures were captured with high resolution scans and 3D printed in minute detail.  Darwen Terracotta pulled plaster moulds directly from the prints and made plaster moulds for each irregular cap, meticulously matching the varying curvatures and angles.  Conserve ART was graciously invited to the UK facility to participate in the final hand finishing, matching the final profiles and textures of each unit.”