Everyone Rubs the Same Spot (9 Photos)

Bronze statues with one shiny spot

On each of these bronze statues, part of the metal has turned bright gold: usually a nose, a toe, a snout or a pen, and in Brussels a whole figure. Nobody painted it. People keep touching the same place for luck, and their hands polished the bronze.

More: Couldn’t Resist (8 Photos)

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🐶 Greyfriars Bobby’s Nose — By William Brodie in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK 🇬🇧

Bobby has sat on his granite fountain at the corner of George IV Bridge and Candlemaker Row since 1873, and only his nose is gold. In 2017 a local tour operator said the rubbing had only been happening for the last four or five years.

💡 Repair Fact: A council spokeswoman has warned that “it really does cause damage to the statue.” Conservators worked on the whole statue in 2013, with the nose requiring the most work. The fountain is a Category A listed monument, put up by Baroness Burdett-Coutts.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsGreyfriars Bobby FountainWilliam Brodie · 1873 · EdinburghWilliam BrodieEdinburghBronze and granite1William Brodie created the bronze dog for a public drinking fountain.edinburgh.org2According to STV’s 2017 report, the council warned that rubbing the nose damages the statue.archive.news.stv.tv1873Greyfriars Bobby fountain erected2013Whole statue conserved, with most work needed on the nose, according to a later STV report201717 AugSTV reports the campaign to stop nose rubbing and the council’s damage warning201823 JunMonument photographed with its polished noseRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Chabe01 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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✨ Everard ’t Serclaes Memorial — By Julien Dillens in Brussels, Belgium 🇧🇪

Under an arcade beside the Grand-Place, a 14th-century hero of Brussels lies on his deathbed, and hands have polished him gold from head to foot. Touching him is said to bring luck, or to make sure you return to Brussels. Dillens made the memorial in 1902; this photo shows it before 2016.

💡 Copy Fact: The figure people touch today is a copy. Because tourists touched the monument so often, the city put a copy in its place in 2016 and restored the original for display in the City Hall.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMonument to Everard ’t SerclaesJulien Dillens · 1902 · BrusselsJulien DillensBrussels1902 monument1The city museum dates Julien Dillens’s monument to 1902.brusselscitymuseum.brussels2In 2016, a bronze replica replaced the original, which was placed in City Hall’s Ogivale Hall.brusselscitymuseum.brussels1902Monument inaugurated beside Grand-Placec. 2008Original memorial photographed at Grand-Place, circa 2008201625 OctBrussels Times reports a bronze replica installed the previous dayRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Viktor Hauk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)

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👃 Lincoln’s Nose — By Gutzon Borglum in Springfield, Illinois, USA 🇺🇸

The head is dark bronze; the nose is gold, and these visitors are adding to the shine outside Lincoln Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery. It is a bronze cast of Borglum’s 1908 marble bust of Lincoln, added when the tomb was remodeled in 1931.

💡 Height Fact: A local tradition says rubbing Lincoln’s nose brings good luck. In 1970 the state tried to stop the nose-rubbers by raising the pedestal by a foot and a half. After an uproar and a resolution in the legislature, the bust went back to a reachable height in 1976.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAbraham Lincoln BustGutzon Borglum · 1931 · SpringfieldGutzon BorglumSpringfieldBronze1Borglum’s bronze was based on his 1908 marble bust.sangamoncountyhistory.org2According to the historical society, the bust was raised in 1970 to deter rubbing and lowered again in 1976.sangamoncountyhistory.org1931Bronze bust installed outside Lincoln Tomb1970Bust raised about 18 inches to deter nose rubbing1976Bust returned to its former height, according to the historical society200527 DecVisitors photographed rubbing the polished nose202212 JulHistorical society report records a no-touch sign still present in July 2022Read the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: SenorAnderson at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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🐗 “Il Porcellino” — Sydney Hospital, Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺

A bronze wild boar with a gold snout sits outside Sydney Hospital on Macquarie Street, and the pool at its feet holds bronze tortoises, snakes, frogs and crabs. The base explains the deal: rub the nose, make a wish, and your coin supports the hospital.

💡 Coin Fact: The boar is a replica of Pietro Tacca’s boar in Florence, given in 1968 by Marchesa Clarissa Torrigiani in memory of her father and her brother, both surgeons at the hospital. By its 50th birthday, the boar had raised more than $500,000 in coins for the hospital.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsIl PorcellinoAfter Pietro Tacca · 1968 · SydneySydney HospitalBronze replicaHospital memorial1Sydney’s boar is a replica of Pietro Tacca’s Florentine Il Porcellino.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au2The health district reported more than A$500,000 in donations at the sculpture’s 50th anniversary.seslhd.health.nsw.gov.au1968Installed at Sydney Hospital2016Bronze, sandstone base and plaques conserved2018Health district reports the sculpture’s 50th-anniversary celebration20218 JanBoar photographed outside Sydney HospitalRead the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: Maksym Kozlenko / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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👞 John Harvard’s Left Shoe — By Daniel Chester French in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 🇺🇸

John Harvard sits in Harvard Yard, and the toe of his left shoe shines. Rubbing the foot is said to bring good luck, though the custom is not an old one.

💡 Lies Fact: The statue was unveiled in 1884, and guides call it the statue of three lies. The face was modeled on a student, Sherman Hoar, Class of 1882, because there is no description of what John Harvard looked like. Harvard was a benefactor, not the founder, and the College was founded in 1636, not 1638.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsJohn HarvardDaniel Chester French · 1884 · CambridgeDaniel Chester FrenchHarvard YardBronze1Daniel Chester French’s bronze was unveiled on October 15, 1884.news.harvard.edu2Harvard Library calls it the “statue of three lies” because its founding claim, date and likeness are inaccurate.ask.library.harvard.edu188415 OctJohn Harvard statue unveiled1924Statue moved from Memorial Hall to Harvard Yard202320 FebStatue photographed with its bright left shoeRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Crisco 1492 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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🦶 David Hume’s Toe — By Alexander Stoddart in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK 🇬🇧

Stoddart dressed the philosopher like an ancient Greek and let one big toe hang over the edge of the plinth on the Royal Mile. The toe went gold. Philosophy students started rubbing it for luck and wisdom, which is ironic: Hume was famous for rejecting superstition.

💡 Sculptor Fact: The statue went up in 1997. Nine years later Stoddart told The Scotsman: “We are seeing the birth of an ancient tradition with this toe rubbing.”

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsDavid HumeAlexander Stoddart · 1997 · EdinburghAlexander StoddartEdinburghBronze1Alexander Stoddart’s bronze was erected on November 21, 1997, and unveiled nine days later.trove.scot2According to the Irish Times, Stoddart predicted that rubbing the exposed toe would become an “ancient tradition”.irishtimes.com199721 NovStatue erected on the Royal Mile199730 NovDavid Hume statue unveiled20174 FebToe-rubbing tradition described in the Irish Times201831 JulClose-up photographed of the polished toe202228 JanEdinburgh News publishes an account of the toe-rubbing customRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Ogmios / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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🦶 Gregory of Nin’s Big Toe — By Ivan Meštrović in Split, Croatia 🇭🇷

The medieval bishop stands 7.58 meters tall outside the Golden Gate of Diocletian’s Palace, so his feet are the only part most people can reach. Rubbing the statue’s big toe is said to bring good luck, and it shines gold against the green bronze.

💡 Moving Fact: The statue first stood inside the palace, on the Peristyle, in 1929. The Italian occupying authorities took it apart in 1941, and it went back up at its current spot, outside the Golden Gate, only in 1954.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsGrgur NinskiIvan Meštrović · 1929 · SplitIvan MeštrovićSplitMonumental bronze1Meštrović’s monument was installed at the Peristyle in 1929 and placed above the Golden Gate in 1954.mestrovic.hr2According to International Travel News, visitors rub the bishop’s toe in the belief that it brings good luck.intltravelnews.com1929Monument installed in Split1941Monument dismantled during the Italian occupation1954Statue re-erected at a new Split site20137 JunClose-up photographed of the polished foot2014OctInternational Travel News publishes its account of the monument and toe-touching beliefRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Croatia-01162 – Foot of Gregory of Nin” by Dennis G. Jarvis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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👞 Timothy Eaton’s Toe — By Ivor Lewis in Toronto, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦

Eaton’s employees raised the money for this 1919 bronze of their company’s founder, and it sat in the Eaton’s store for decades, where the tradition developed of rubbing Timothy’s left toe for good luck. In 1999 it was donated to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, shiny toe and all.

💡 Twin Fact: Winnipeg has a twin, unveiled the same year. There too, the toe of his left boot became shiny from being rubbed by thousands of people.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsTimothy EatonIvor Rhys Lewis · 1919 · TorontoIvor Rhys LewisTorontoBronze statue1Eaton’s employees funded the sculpture to mark the company’s 50th anniversary.rom.on.ca2According to Winnipeg Free Press, Lewis made matching memorials for Toronto and Winnipeg in 1919.winnipegfreepress.com19198 DecToronto statue unveiled at the Eaton store1977Moved to the Toronto Eaton Centre1999Donated to the Royal Ontario Museum201731 JanRadio Canada reports the Toronto statue at the Royal Ontario MuseumRead the full file →

📷 Photo: “Shiny shoe” by Jason Shim / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

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🖋️ Anonymus’s Pen — By Miklós Ligeti in Budapest, Hungary 🇭🇺

A hooded figure with no visible face sits by Vajdahunyad Castle in City Park. He is Anonymus, the unknown notary of King Béla III who wrote the Gesta Hungarorum, and his bronze pen is worn pale. Rubbing the tip of the pen is said to bring good luck.

💡 Burial Fact: Ligeti made the statue in 1903, and he wanted to be buried under it. He lies in Budapest’s Fiumei Road Cemetery instead.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAnonymusMiklós Ligeti · 1903 · BudapestMiklós LigetiBudapestBronze1Miklós Ligeti represented the unknown chronicler with a face hidden by a deep hood.hung-art.hu2According to Visit Hungary, touching the pen is said to bring aspiring writers inspiration.visithungary.com1903Anonymus monument erected in City Park202320 MayStatue photographed in Budapest’s City ParkMore photos2023 Full seated figure, codex and pedestalPhoto: OrionNimrod / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Fisumt / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)