The Griffin of Edward III

This sculpture depicts The Griffin of Edward III, one of the Queen's Beasts. The original Queen's Beasts were a set of ten heraldic statues produced by the Ministry of Works for the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 by renowned sculptor James Woodford. It was ultimately decided that they would be gifted to one of the Commonwealth governments and Canada was offered the Beasts. They accepted the offer in 1959 and they now stand in the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec. In 1956 a replica set of Beasts were made in Portland stone once again by James Woodford and donated to Kew. It is these sculptures that visitors to the gardens are greeted with when approaching the main entrance of the Palm House. The griffin of Edward III Queen's Beast is an ancient mythical beast. It was considered a beneficent creature, signifying courage and strength combined with guardianship, vigilance, swiftness and keen vision. It was closely associated with Edward III who engraved it on his private seal. The shield shows the Round Tower of Windsor Castle (where Edward III was born) with the Royal Standard flying from the turret, enclosed by two branches of oak surmounted by the royal crown这件雕塑描绘的是爱德华三世狮鹫（Griffin of Edward III），属于女王御兽（Queen's Beasts）系列之一。 最初的女王御兽（Queen's Beasts）是由知名雕塑家詹姆斯·伍德福德（James Woodford）为1953年6月2日伊丽莎白二世女王（Queen Elizabeth II）的加冕典礼打造的十尊纹章雕塑，由英国工程部（Ministry of Works）出品。 最终决议将这批雕塑赠予英联邦（Commonwealth）某成员国政府，加拿大获赠了全套御兽，并于1959年接受了这份馈赠，如今它们陈列于魁北克（Quebec）的加拿大历史博物馆（Canadian Museum of History）。 1956年，詹姆斯·伍德福德再次采用波特兰石材（Portland stone）复刻了全套御兽，并捐赠给邱园（Kew）。如今前往邱园的游客在走近棕榈屋（Palm House）主入口时，便能见到这批复刻雕塑。 爱德华三世御兽狮鹫是一种古老的神话生物，被视为祥瑞之兽，象征着勇气与力量兼备，同时代表守护、警觉、迅捷与敏锐的视觉。它与爱德华三世渊源深厚，爱德华三世曾将其刻于私人印章之上。雕塑盾牌上展现了温莎城堡圆塔（Round Tower of Windsor Castle，爱德华三世的出生地），塔楼之上飘扬着皇家旗帜（Royal Standard），两侧环绕着两根橡树枝，顶端饰有王室王冠。