"What is the oldest object that you can touch, on the streets of London?"

There are many ancient objects that you can see and touch in London, from the Needle of Thutmose III, mistakenly called 'Cleopatra's Needle', to the Cuneiform tablet in the St Vedast-alias-Foster Garden.

However, there is something far, far older, hidden in plain sight, that may surprise you.

If you visit the area of St Martin-in-the-Fields and head along Adelaide Street, towards Duncannon Street, you will discover a sculpture entitled 'A Conversation with Oscar Wilde'.

This sculpture was created by the artist Maggi Hambling, and was unveiled in 1998. Shaped like a coffin, it has a bust of Oscar Wilde, with a hand holding a cigarette, rising up out of the head end. At the foot end it is inscribed with the words, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars", which is taken from his play 'Lady Windermere's Fan'.

The sculpture was deliberately designed to be an interactive bench, where people can sit and 'chat' with Oscar Wilde.

Many mistakenly think that the piece is made from granite, but they are wrong. It is actually made from metamorphic rock, which is formed in the crust of the Earth. The lines throughout the sculpture show that this compressed rock is over three billion years old.

The Sculpture

There had been a movement to get a lasting memorial to Oscar Wilde, in London, since the late 1980s, which was started by Oscar Wilde fans, including Derek Jarman. 

In 1994, the 'A Statue for Oscar Wilde' committee was formed, which was led by the actor Jeremy Isaacs. Other members of the committee included Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Seamus Heaney and others.

Twelve artists submitted sketches, with six of these being asked to create small maquette models of their ideas. Maggi Hambling's model was selected as it seemed to be "witty and amusing", encapsulating what the committee was looking for.

The project was funded by individual donors, businesses, and foundations.

Over the years the cigarette has been removed many times by vandals, who have simply broken it off, but it has always been replaced.