Stone Carvings

What are those stone figures and carvings staring down from the Peace Tower of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill? Some are fanciful human figures; some are animal figures, while others portray lurid ancient creatures.

Whatever they are, all of them are original carvings that were incorporated into the Gothic Revival architectural style of the buildings on Parliament Hill.

There are still many uncarved blocks of stone in the interior of the Centre Block that are waiting to be transformed into notable works of art.

Although the carvings are generally referred to as gargoyles, there is a descriptive difference between "gargoyles" and "grotesques", "friezes" and "bosses".

Gargoyles were created with a two-fold practical purpose. First, to ward off evil and, second, to eject excess water from the exterior of buildings. A gargoyle, although sometimes mistaken for a grotesque, is a spout or eaves trough carved in the form of a human or animal figure projecting from a roof gutter to catch rainwater and throw it clear of a building.

A grotesque is a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful human or animal figures that may distort the natural into absurdity, ugliness or caricature. At the turn of the century, grotesques were carved as designs of figures for decoration or adornment on buildings. At the same time, they were made to symbolize a desire to fight the power of evil.

Some grotesques or reliefs were carved onto a frieze, which is a horizontal band of decoration around the upper section of a wall, often ornamented with sculpture.

The term boss is used to describe an ornamental projecting block that can be found at the end of a moulding or an arch.

Grotesques

Four of the many grotesques that can be found on the Peace Tower are made from Wallace sandstone (olive green) from Wallace, Nova Scotia, Canada. They are each approximately 105 cm (42 in.) high by 55 cm (22 in.) wide.

           

Reliefs

Following are a number of decorative relief carvings that can be found on the many friezes on the Peace Tower. These have been sculpted from Wallace sandstone (olive green) from Wallace, Nova Scotia, Canada and vary in size.

           

Bosses

The following example is one of many bosses to be found on the Peace Tower. While this particular one is carved from Wallace sandstone (olive green) from Wallace, Nova Scotia, Canada, some are carved from Birmingham buff sandstone from Ohio, United States of America.

Gargoyles

There are four gargoyles on the Peace Tower. Each is approximately 2.5 m (8 ft. 4 in.) long by 75 cm (2 ft. 6 in.) high by 45 cm (1 ft. 6 in.) thick. They have been carved from Stan stead grey granite, which originates from Beebe, Quebec, Canada.