Eared seal statue, Bronze statue in Kinského zahrada, Prague, Czech Republic.
The Eared Seal Statue is a bronze sculpture by Jan Lauda set in the upper pond of Kinský Garden in Smíchov, Prague. It shows a seal with its head raised, and in summer water sprays from its mouth.
The original plaster sculpture was made by Jan Lauda in 1936; the bronze cast in Kinský Garden dates from 1953. Further casts of the popular figure stand in Ostrava, Brno, Prague-Řepy and Zbraslav. Lauda, an academic sculptor, lived from 1898 to 1959.
The original 1936 cast by Jan Lauda proved popular enough that further casts were placed in Ostrava, Brno, Prague-Řepy and Zbraslav, so the Kinský Garden seal is one of several versions of the same figure. In summer water sprays from its raised mouth, a detail children watch for.
The bronze seal sits in the upper pond of Kinský Garden, which is freely accessible year-round. A cycle path runs alongside the pond, so cyclists pass close to the sculpture. The garden lies on the Smíchov side of Prague, within the Pražská plošina geomorphological unit.
The 1953 bronze is a cast of Jan Lauda's original 1936 sculpture; other casts stand in Ostrava, Brno, Prague-Řepy and Zbraslav. In summer water sprays from the seal's raised mouth.
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