Lost Bow Statue, Queen Mary's Gardens

The Lost Bow Statue is an ornamental sculpture located on a pedestal at the head of the lake in Queen Mary's Gardens, Regent's Park. It was created by Albert H Hodge and is signed and dated 12 March 1910. The pedestal is made of rectangular Portland stone, supporting a cast bronze statue of a putto, depicted nude except for a helmet, a small cloak, and a quiver of arrows. The putto sits astride a large, realistically modeled vulture, which has the putto's bow pinned beneath its talons. The vulture looks back at the putto, who holds an arrow raised as if to stab the bird.

Historically, this sculpture is believed to have been commissioned by painter and sculptor Sigismund Goetze for his home and is part of a pair with another work titled The Mighty Hunter. It was presented to Queen Mary's Gardens in 1939 after the gardens were redesigned by Duncan Campbell, the Superintendent of Regent's Park for the Ministry of Works, which included the addition of a theatre and café. Goetze, who resided at Nuffield Lodge, contributed several features to Queen Mary's Gardens, a tradition that his wife continued in other London parks after his passing through her Constance Fund. Albert Hodge, who initially trained as an architect in Glasgow, became known for his architectural sculpture and worked on significant projects, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and reliefs on the Robert Burns Monument in Stirling.