This work was monogrammed by Joop van Lunteren. The four sculptures reflect the archaic feel for monumentality of the ancient (granite) sculptures made by the Egyptians and Assyrians. Each figure holds a symbolic object, but their meaning is not quite clear. The owl most likely stands for wisdom. The staff entwined by two serpents can refer to the caduceus which can mean peace, protection, recovery and even the medical world or can be associated with Hermes or Mercury, although the two wings are missing. In the hands of these Greek or Roman gods, the staff can symbolise trade, traffic or invention. The train could symbolise modern technology and the hammer handwork or craft. According to Professor Dr Ype Koopmans, author of the academic dissertation on the sculptor, the four attributes might in the end Stand for wisdom, science, industry and art. Joop van Lunteren executed similar sculptures for the PTT building (Staatsbedrijf der Posterijen, Telegrafie en Telefonie) designed by architect Gustav Cornelis Bremer (1880-1949) and located on the Kortenaerkade no. 11-12 in 's-Gravenhage (The Hague) (1923-1924). Provenance: possibly Rotterdam's former Centrale Gemeentelijke Bibliotheek 'Erasmus' designed by architect Nicolaas Lansdorp (1885-1968). Joop van Lunteren studied at the Haarlemse School voor Kunstnijverheid (1896-1901). He worked in various studios in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. He realised designs created by other artists as well as individual creations. From 1913 until 1916, Van Lunteren was involved in carrying out designs made by other artists for the Scheepvaarthuis in Amsterdam, supervised by its main architect, Jan Melchior van der Mey (1878-1949). From 1916 until 1923, the Government contracted him on a so called freelance base. The cooperation with government architects of the Dienst voor Publieke Werken made van Lunteren one of the prominent sculptors for the embellishment of buildings for many years. German monumental sculpture in general and Franz Metzner (1870-1919) in particular, the most important and most leading sculptor of the Wiener Secession, had a strong influence on his work. Van Lunteren loved the taille directe and working with tuff for his individual work. A spontaneous technique he could not apply when carrying out official massive sized sculpture commissions, but he tried to create a similar effect. Sculpting in very hard material such as granite was an extreme time consuming and physically demanding job, even when van Lunteren became an expert in sculpting with pneumatic hammers and chisels, which was a very unusual technique in The Netherlands until after the Second World War. The mechanical technique gave his oeuvre an unadorned look, with deep shadows and minimal details. Source: Koopmans, Y. (vols 1-2) (1994 and 1997), Muurvast en gebeiteld. Beeldhouwkunst in de bouw 1840-1940 [academic dissertation], Rotterdam: NAi Uitgevers.