By the standards of most Bar Associations, our banner graphics are extremely quirky: no boring scales of justice, or gavels, wigs, robes and faux crests with horseshoe lettering.
What do we have instead? An animal, and the statute of a Grecian lady? Read on.
The lawyer fox of the Bombay High CourtThe column-tops, pillars and many running panels of the Bombay High Court are filled with the oddest and most marvellous collection of carvings. To say these are eccentric is to put it mildly. One of our favourites is the lawyer-fox, a motif repeated at several places in court.
The monkey judge
View larger pictureAnother creature of whom we are all very fond is the charlatan monkey judge. You see him here peeping through his blindfold and tilting the scales of justice.
There are others, too — one cherished favourite is the insolvent monkey, a carving far too risqué to be shown on a website.
A Disgruntled Contractor?
How did these carvings come to be made? No one is entirely certain, but legend has it that some of the more pointed barbs at the legal profession came from the hand of a disgruntled contractor, who sued -- unsuccessfully, if the results are anything to go by -- for his dues.
That the carvings were allowed to remain, and continued through execution, are both testimonials to the significantly higher standards — and not just of workmanship — of those days.
Faces of the communities of Bombay: column detail
View larger pictureNot all the carvings are quite so pointed in their send-ups of the legal fraternity. Many show a great love for the city and its institutions. This column detail, from the magnificent Central Courtroom No:46, has carvings of the faces of the many communities that make up this cosmopolis. The different communities are identified by their headgear.
The lady of justiceThe lady is the Statue of Justice, one of two that sit at the very top of the Court building. In one hand she holds the Scales of Justice; in the other, a sword. The other statue, Justice's counterpart, is the Lady of Mercy, with hands clasped, in the attitude of a supplicant. The two complement each other, as should the work done in the edifice at their feet.
Statues of Justice and Mercy
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The Bar Association premises
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