Cavaliere Rudolfo Nolli  — was a sculptor and architect from Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

, who during the first half of the 20th century worked mainly at the gulf of Siam.

He was the nephew of the sculptor Vittorio Novi from Lanzo d' Intelvi, a village close to lake Como in Northern Italy.

Around 1914 Novi created the marble decoration for the new Mahaiudthit Bridge in Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

  and also did marble works for the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. Here Nolli became his assistant and was so successful that he earned himself the title of Cavaliere (knight).

In Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 Nolli later designed the marble decorations of the College of Medicine Building, Singapore (completed 1926) and of the Old Supreme Court Building

Old Supreme Court Building

The Old Supreme Court Building is the former courthouse of the Supreme Court of Singapore, before it moved out of the building and commenced operations in the new building on 20 June 2005...

 (completed 1939). Nolli had also designed the cast iron lamps and lion reliefs of the Elgin Bridge

Elgin Bridge

Elgin Bridge is a vehicular bridge across the Singapore River, linking the Downtown Core to the Singapore River Planning Area located within Singapore's Central Area....

 spanning the Singapore river

Singapore River

The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean...

 (completed 1929) and the four allegorical marble relief

Relief

Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...

s of Agriculture, Industry, Commerce and Transport at the entrance hall of the Tanjong Pagar railway station

Tanjong Pagar railway station

Tanjong Pagar railway station , also called Keppel Road railway station or Singapore railway station, was until 30 June 2011 the southern terminus of the network operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu , the main railway operator in Malaysia. The land on which the station and the KTM railway tracks are...

 (1932).

In 1950 he created two iconic crests for Gan Eng Seng School

Gan Eng Seng School

Founded by philanthropist Gan Eng Seng in 1885, Gan Eng Seng School is one of the oldest schools in Singapore. GESS was the first school to be set up by a local Chinese and the first to form a parent-teachers' association in 1950. It was an all-boys' school for 102 years until it became...

 at 155 Waterloo Street

Waterloo Street

Waterloo Street is a two-way street in downtown Singapore stretching from Rochor Road to Bras Basah Road. It passes through the planning areas of Rochor and Museum Planning Area....

, which were lost when the school moved to Raeburn Park in 1986. He had formerly crafted similar decorations for the Fullerton Building

The Fullerton Hotel Singapore

The Fullerton Hotel Singapore is a five-star luxury hotel located near the mouth of the Singapore River, in the Downtown Core of Central Area, Singapore. It was originally known as The Fullerton Building, and also as the General Post Office Building....

 built in 1924 - 28. He also created a pair of lions for the Bank of China Building, Singapore

Bank of China Building, Singapore

The Bank of China Building is a development consisting of two skyscrapers located in the central business district of Singapore. It is located on 4 Battery Road, just next to 6 Battery Road, Maybank Tower, and roughly 100 metres from the Fullerton Hotel. It houses the Bank of China.- History :The...

 (1952) and for the Merdeka Bridge

Merdeka Bridge

The Merdeka Bridge is a vehicular and pedestrian bridge located in Kallang in the south-eastern part of Singapore. It spans over the river mouths of the Kallang River and Rochor River, which empty into the Kallang Basin...

 (1954).

Probably his latest commission was the huge Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is a royal Islamic mosque located in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of the Sultanate of Brunei. The mosque is one of the most spectacular mosques in the Asia Pacific and a major landmark and tourist attraction of Brunei....

 in Brunei (completed 1958) which inspired the novel Devil of a State

Devil of a State

Devil of a State is a 1961 novel by Anthony Burgess based on his experience living and working in Bandar Seri Begawan in the Southeast Asian sultanate of Brunei, on the island of Borneo, in 1958-59....

 by Anthony Burgess

Anthony Burgess

John Burgess Wilson  – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...

.