The original marble urn was discovered in 1771 at Hadrian's Villa and was originally owned by Sir William Hamilton and later bequeathed to the 2nd Earl of Warwick, remaining at Warwick Castle until 1977. For years the Earl would not allow copies to be made of the work, but eventually models were cast in various media and the Warwick Vase became one of the best known antique models. Cf. F. Haskell & N. Penny, Taste and the Antique, New Haven and London, 1981, p. 67 and J. Davis, Antique Garden Ornament, Suffolk, Great Britain, 1991, pp. 135, 182, pl. 3:15

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