Lot Essay
This plinth-supported 'Roman-bath', inspired by antique sarcophagi such as that in the Vatican Museum (illustrated in R. Gnoli, Marmora Romana, Rome, 1988, pl.39), is embellished with golden conjoined ribbon-tied serpents emblematic of Eternity. Such Roman objects reflect the taste for the antique promoted by architects such as Charles Heathcote Tatham (d. 1842), author of Etchings of Ancient Ornamental Architecture.., 1800 and Designs for Ornamental Plate of 1806.
Kalkan Jasper, along with numerous minerals, was first discovered in Russia in 1785-6 on the expeditions organised by the Academy of Arts under the direction of General Dannenberg. Its use is usually associated with the Master Lapidaries of Ekaterinburg, such as the circular bowl in the Hermitage Museum, which was executed by Iakov Vasilievich Kokovin (1784-1835), appointed Master Lapidary in 1814, after a design by the Imperial Cabinet of 1822 (A. Chenevière, Russian Furniture The Golden Age 1780-1840, London, 1988, fig. 286, p.270, however, the design of the mounts would indicate an Italian workshop, and Kalkan Jasper was certainly available in Italy as it featured on the specimen marble table top acquired by Jonas Brooke (d. 1784) on the Grand Tour (sold by Mrs. Helen Langforde-Brooke, Mere Hall, Cheshire, Christie's house sale, 23 May 1994, lot 60).
Kalkan Jasper, along with numerous minerals, was first discovered in Russia in 1785-6 on the expeditions organised by the Academy of Arts under the direction of General Dannenberg. Its use is usually associated with the Master Lapidaries of Ekaterinburg, such as the circular bowl in the Hermitage Museum, which was executed by Iakov Vasilievich Kokovin (1784-1835), appointed Master Lapidary in 1814, after a design by the Imperial Cabinet of 1822 (A. Chenevière, Russian Furniture The Golden Age 1780-1840, London, 1988, fig. 286, p.270, however, the design of the mounts would indicate an Italian workshop, and Kalkan Jasper was certainly available in Italy as it featured on the specimen marble table top acquired by Jonas Brooke (d. 1784) on the Grand Tour (sold by Mrs. Helen Langforde-Brooke, Mere Hall, Cheshire, Christie's house sale, 23 May 1994, lot 60).