Fountain Gags "Little Sofas"

"Divanchiki" Joke Fountains are the oldest of the joke fountains that have survived to our time. The fountains look like typical 18th-century garden benches with lattice seats, painted white. The backs of the benches are decorated with masks of tritons and a tuff rock formation. They are located in the Eastern part of the Lower Park of Peterhof near the Monplaisir Palace.

In the Eastern part of the Lower Park of Peterhof, there are several similar joke fountains. The Divanchiki were created between 1721 and 1723 and are the oldest joke fountains in Peterhof. The architect was Nicolo Michetti (his drawings were personally corrected by Peter I), and the fountain master was Paul Soualem. The fountains look like typical 18th-century white garden benches with lattice seats. The backs of the benches are decorated with masks of tritons and a tuff rock formation. The sculptor gave the tritons a human appearance while emphasizing the fantastical nature of these mythological characters. It seems as if the triton's head has just appeared above the water, his hair tousled, and his wide-open eyes look frightened and tense into the distance. When attempting to approach the bench, water "tongues" and splashes suddenly shoot out noisily from the mascaron and tuff rock formation beneath it.

In front of the bench is a platform paved with granite cobblestones, along three sides of the perimeter of this platform are fountain pipes. From these pipes, from the mask, and also from the tuff stones in the middle of the bench, water jets periodically shoot out. A "water arch" is created by the jets, with visitors who dare to step onto the cobblestone-paved platform standing in its center. In the first quarter of the 18th century, these joke fountains were called "wetting places," and covered alleys led to them, which were eliminated by the mid-18th century. Guests left the Monplaisir Palace through the wings, and to enter the park grounds, they had to pass over the cobblestones at the Divanchiki. The fountain would splash water on the elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen.

A. Geirot described this fountain in his "Description of Peterhof" in 1868 (at that time, the pipes were laid only on two sides of the perimeter): "In the Monplaisir garden near the green lattice, benches are placed with specially arranged fountains for amusement. There, in front of the bench, along the sides of the path, two rows of small pipes are hidden, which unexpectedly spray water at visitors. The small pipes, invisible in the sand, although they get clogged, have such a strong water pressure that any sand grains that accidentally get in are immediately blown out by the jet. These fountains are called joke fountains."

The fountains were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. They were restored in 1952 and 1958.

Sources:

https://spb-parki.ru/parks/peterhof/ansambl-vostochnoy-chasti/fontan-shutikha-divanchiki/

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Диванчики_(фонтан-шутиха)