'The Eagle Slayer' was cast in 1851 by the Coalbrookdale Company, having been designed by popular Victorian neoclassical sculptor John Bell. The sculpture is made of cast iron, a material previously only used for industrial use. The sculpture shows a shepherd who, upon discovering one of his sheep has been killed by an eagle, fires an arrow and kills the eagle. The statue appears in the 1875 Coalbrookdale Company catalogue (No. 210). A smaller statuette version of 'The Eagle Slayer' was also cast by the Coalbrookdale Company. 'The Eagle Slayer' was originally displayed at the Great Exhibition in 1851 and was presented to the Exhibition's commissioner at its conclusion, and resided for some years at Kensington Palace. It later stood outside the original V&A building when it was the South Kensington Museum.