AFTER A DESIGN BY WILLIAM KENT, MID-18TH CENTURY AND LATER

The design of this spirally fluted urn is illustrated in John Vardy's Some Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. William Kent, 1744, in which this urn, alongside another, are described as ‘Two Vases with Pedestals for Mr Pope’. This refers to designs for Alexander Pope's garden at Twickenham, overlooking the Thames, which was to become one of the most original contributions in the history of English garden design. A quantity of garden vases were carved from Bath Stone (a limestone) in the 18th Century and this design was one of the more popular models. See John Davis, Antique Garden Ornament, 1991, Antique Collectors Club, p.116, pp. 2:57.