AFTER THE ANTIQUE, CIRCA 1880, BY FERDINAND BARBEDIENNE, PARIS

The Warwick Vase was a rich source of Neo-classical ideas for both 18th and 19th century artists and craftsmen. Dating from the 2nd-century A.D., the original marble fragments from the ruins of Hadrian's villa at Tivoli, were incorporated in a marble reconstruction which was completed around 1775. The 'restoration' was paid for by Sir William Hamilton, who presented the vase to his nephew, the 2nd Earl of Warwick. This example of the famous vase was cast by Achille Collas (1795-1859) who invented a method for making mechanical reductions of sculpture for reproduction. In 1838 he went into partnership with Ferdinand Barbedienne, whose name the business took in the 1850s. The original Warwick Vase is now in the Burrell Collection, Glasgow.