They were already represented in Greek art to support the pediments of temples. The Caryatids of the Wallace fountains in Paris date from 1872. Their donor, Sir Richard Wallace, aimed to provide free water to the population deprived by the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). He called on the sculptor Charles-Auguste Lebourg to design the cast-iron fountains. Melted at the GHM foundry in the Haute-Marne department, they became symbols of Paris and many other capitals.