Explore the Design of this artwork.
The fountain is composed of a series of basins, supported by sculptures of classical figures. The cast iron is coated with bronze, stands 30 feet (9.1 m) high, and weighs 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg).  It stands in the center of a large circular marble pool.
Three figures of women, standing on a triangle pedestal with an ornamental design of seashells and three reptiles spouting water, support the lower cast iron vasque, which is adorned with a circle of 12 lamps. In the center, three kneeling tritons support another, smaller and higher vasque. Water spouts from a crown at the top, cascades down into the smaller vasque, and then down into the larger vasque before spilling into the main basin. 
The cascade of water was illuminated by the gas lamps, which were later replaced with electric globes, making it one of the first monuments in Washington, D.C. to be lit at night, and a popular evening destination in the 1880s.
 Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. seashell fountain tritons