A pair of Italian carved alabaster vases on stands

IN THE NEO-CLASSICAL STYLE, CIRCA 1840

Details

A pair of Italian carved alabaster vases on stands
In the Neo-Classical Style, Circa 1840
Each carved in high relief, with an egg-and-dart overhanging rim, above acanthus scrolls with waisted fluted neck, the bulbous tapering body carved to the shoulder with mythological beasts and foliate scrolls, above a further band of beasts, each vase carved to the front with a scene, depicting the sacrifice of Iphigenia, above a band carved with winged goat-like beasts and floral rosettes, with acanthus scrolls below and with egg-and-dart-carved collar, on fluted and stepped foot with a beaded edge, on integral circular truncated plinth carved with ribbon-tied foliate festoons suspended from rams' masks, above a fluted band, on a stepped foot and square base with canted corners
62¼ in. (158 cm.) high (2)

Lot Essay

The relief carving to the frieze on each of these urns is based on the Medici Vase, now in the Uffizi, Florence. It depicts the mythological story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, King of Mycenae. Agamemnon, who had consulted a seer, Calchas, for a propitious time in which to attack Troy, was told that he had incurred the wrath of Diana by killing a stag, the animal sacred to the goddess. In order to assuage Diana's anger, he was ordered to sacrifice his daughter.

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