AFTER THE ANTIQUE, LATE 19TH CENTURY

The present lot is based on a massive marble vase which was discovered in 1771 in the Papal territories. After its restoration, it was sold to the Earl of Warwick by Sir William Hamilton and is now in the Glasgow Museum in Scotland. Its fame was enhanced by the prints of Piranesi which provided artists a way to produce copies in a variety of mediums such as silver, bronze, marble and terracotta (F. Haskell & N. Penny, Taste and the Antique, 1981, p. 67).