Lot Essay
A virtually identical urn based on the Borghese vase in the Louvre is illustrated in a French catalogue of 1805 advertising porphyry from Alvdalen in Sweden (illustrated in Bukowski's Exhibition catalogue Porfyr, no. 24). A pair of virtually identical vases from the collection of the late Dowager Countess Howe was sold, Christie's London, 4 June 1992, lot 102 and another was sold in these Rooms, 24 March, 1994, lot 206.
Porphyry mining in the village of Alvalen started in the 1780's when the works were acquired by King Charles XIV. The works were sold by the Royal family in 1856 and were destroyed by fire ten years later.
Porphyry mining in the village of Alvalen started in the 1780's when the works were acquired by King Charles XIV. The works were sold by the Royal family in 1856 and were destroyed by fire ten years later.