The fountain "wishing well" at Apenes, Horten, Vestfold, Norway

The fountain "wishing well" is Horten's oldest public sculpture. It was erected in 1919, just after the Apenes expansion was completed. The donor was navy man and owner of the Technicians' House, Commander Gabriel Kielland, and he presented the well as a gift to Apenes town. It was located on a small circular space by Hans Gude Street, where it now serves almost as a garden decoration for the small houses around. The fountain's origin is only partially known. It is a replica of a similar wishing well in the backyard of an old apartment building in Oslo. The original purportedly was made ​​in Italy in the early 19th century; the identity of the sculptor remains unknown. The sculpture in Oslo was probably brought to Norway some time between 1820 and 1830. Before that it must have spent fifty years in Italy. The well is octagonal and on each of the side surfaces is a rectangular relief which the subject is grape clusters and curved ribbon, called garlands. In the middle of the pool is located a square pillar and the most prominent of this is the four antique-inspired theater masks. They have a somewhat grotesque expression and out of the wide-open mouths runs the water. On top of the bar is a little girl holding a lamb. This sculpture, which is a different material than the rest of the fountain, emphasizing the baroque feel like the whole wishing well have. The girl is rich modeled and the subject is hardly any different meaning than being a diversion. Both the well and sculpture on top is referred casts of the original that is in Oslo. The pool and bar are cast in cement with crushed porphyry and is reddish in color. The girl and the lamb is off-white cement, so-called artificial stone . The fountain in Hans Gude Street has never been used as a wishing well. Locals are not in the habit of throwing coins in it, as is the case in Oslo, where apparently some believe the well to have certain supernatural powers attached to it.