As the head of one of San Francisco's major corporations, Mr. Zellerbach was very involved in various civic and business activities. He was chosen by President Truman to administer the Marshall Plan in Italy and served as the American Ambassador to Italy during the Eisenhower presidency. A philanthropist, diplomat, art patron and businessman, Mr. Zellerbach was president of the San Francisco Symphony Association, director of the San Francisco Opera and a trustee of the San Francisco Museum of Art.

Upon his return to the United States in 1950, after his service as Ambassador, the present vases were presented to him as a tribute by the Italian Government. They are after a pair of vases in the Room of the Sphinxes in the Villa Borghese.