Making Bronze Life Size Peacock Sculpture August 14, 2025

I was delighted to be commissioned by the private bank Arbuthnot Latham to sculpt a peacock for their new London head office. Founded in 1833, the company originally prospered as a merchant of produce from India, before branching out into finance. It is therefore fitting that the bank’s logo is a peacock head, the national bird of India.

In common usage, ‘peacock’ is used to refer to both sexes of peafowl. In comparison to the peacock, the peahen is a dowdy grey brown. When we think of a peacock, it is the flamboyant male that comes to mind. The Indian peacock (Pavo cristatus) has bright blue green plumage with a metallic, iridescent sheen, and a crest on its head. It is known for its characteristic extravagant tail, called a ‘train’, marked with striking eyespots.

It is likely that Phoenician traders brought peacocks to Europe early in the first millennium BC. However, there is a story that 600 years later, Alexander the Great came across peacocks in the Punjab and believed them to be divine. He sent some back to Greece where they became revered.

The peacock came to be associated with immortality, as the ancients believed the bird’s flesh could not decay. Consequently, it became an early symbol of Christianity. Its tail feathers were highly prized, being traded around the world, and found as far apart as Japan and Norway.

A motif found all over the globe, the peacock embodies various different qualities for many different religions and cultures. In China particularly, it represents royalty, good fortune, beauty, status and wealth, and was once a symbol of the Ming Dynasty.

My sculpture was designed to be free-standing in the main reception area of the Arbuthnot Latham London office, under a central staircase.

One of the things I love about working with bronze is that it forces me to think creatively when it comes to the complexities of casting. Sculpting the peacock’s train was quite a challenge. I had to think about how I was going to maintain the texture of the feathers and the eyespots. In the end, I had real peacock feathers 3D printed into plastic. Then I rebuilt the tail, and filled this multi-layered structure with clay, which made a solid surface that the foundry could cast into bronze.

With a nod to the two Scottish founders of the bank, I mounted the peacock sculpture on a washed-up piece of ancient Caledonian forest tree root that I found on the banks of a Scottish loch and cast into bronze.

I am really pleased with how my peacock turned out! To find out more about this sculpture, see the Life Size Peacock Sculpture page.

Newsletter Sign Up

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

I would like to receive printed catalogues by post

Address 1 *

Address 2 *

City/County *

ZIP/Post Code *

Country *

I consent to be contacted. For more information on how we protect your data and rights, please view our Privacy Policy.