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拍品專文
This magnificent Roman marble cinerary urn, of a scale and quality not commonly seen for its type, was once part of the collection of the celebrated author and virtuoso, Thomas Hope.
Thomas Hope (1769-1831) was born in Amsterdam to John Hope, a banker of Scottish origin, and Philippina Barbara van der Hoeven. He embarked on an extensive Grand Tour in 1787, during which time he sketched architectural remains in ancient lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. He continued to travel for several years, revisiting Italy and also journeying to Egypt in 1797 and to Athens in 1799 in order to pursue his interest in antiquities. With the Napoleonic disturbances in Europe, Hope took a hiatus from his travels until 1815.
Thomas Hope amassed an impressive art collection, chiefly during his stay in Italy; the collection was further augmented by his youngest brother, Henry Philip Hope. His collecting interests may very well have been sparked by his father, who had been a patron of Giambattista Piranesi; and by one of his cousins who was acquainted with the scholar Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717 - 1768), author of History of Ancient Art, and the collector Cardinal Albani; and perhaps also by his uncle, Henry Hope, who unsuccessfully attempted to purchase part of the Borghese collection of classical marbles.
Thomas Hope continued to collect antiquities right up to his death and transferred part of the collection to his country house The Deepdene in 1824-25, to which a new wing had just been added to accommodate them. There are no details of where this vase was displayed at Duchess Street, but in Hope Marbles the caption reads “in the right hand closet entering the Theatre from conservatory”. Waywell op. cit, pp. 55-56: “a few minor antiquities were also displayed in a small room between the Theatre and the Sculpture Gallery, which was entered from the conservatory. …it is referred to…as a closet by Britton. Here, in addition to Thorvalsen’s allegorical relief inscribed ‘A Genio Lumen’ [now in the Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen, no. 518a], were the following pieces: "cinerary urn no. 91….”.
The downfall of the world famous Hope Collection of ancient marbles and vases began with the inheritance of Deepdene in 1884, by the grandson of Thomas Hope, Lord Francis Hope, who was only 18 years old at the time. He was declared bankrupt in 1894, forcing the sale of various paintings and the famous Hope blue diamond for £120,000. Deepdene was rented out to various tenants for the next 20 years and the collection fell into disrepair, with most of the antiquities moved into storage in Deepdene’s cellars or man-made tunnels behind the house. In 1912 the estates were placed into the hands of the receivers and the greater part of the Hope collection of ancient marbles was sold at Christie’s on Tuesday 24th July 1917.
The 1917 catalogue note to the vase states that “This very fine vase, which is in excellent preservation, is delicately carved throughout in low relief…A manuscript note among the Hope papers states that a facsimile vase is (1795) in the Museo Grimani at Venice”, which one would assume implies that the present vase was purchased as early as 1795. The urn was certainly in the Hope collection by c.1810-1813, where it was viewed by Rev. Fosbrooke, who drew the vase for his set of engravings.
At the 1917 Hope sale Colnaghi’s bought 3 pieces from the Hope sale (lots 209, 240 and 259) on behalf of the Dutch collector, dealer and auctioneer Anton Mensing (1866-1936), noted in their day book as Frederick Muller, the Dutch auction house that Mensing owned. The piece stayed with Mensing until its sale, by Frederick Muller & Co., on 9 October 1940.
Anton Mensing (1866-1936) began his career as a bookbinder in the Amsterdam antiquarian bookdealers Frederick Muller in 1885. In 1892 Mensing became a partner in the firm, and in 1899 had the opportunity to take the reins and venture into art auctions. Under his energetic leadership Frederick Muller became the first international art auction house in the Netherlands. An impressive saleroom was designed by the brothers Johan and Adolf van Gendt with beautiful views onto the Binnen Amstel and the Halvemaansbrug and his first assistants were Frits Lugt (paintings, drawings and prints), W.A. van Buuren (decorative arts department) and Frederik Casparus Wieder (books and manuscripts). In 1923 his son Bernard joined the firm and together with his hardworking team he organised one auction after another, with the firm finally closing its doors in the early 1960s.
This extremely fine cinerary urn is delicately carved with a deep band of gently rippling leaves, with twin Medusa masks below a wide band of richly trailing foliage. The ornate handles are in the form of characterful Pan heads. The lid, lower fluted body, foot and neck and curving horns of the handles are well-matched 18th Century restorations. Another example from the Townley collection at the British Museum is similarly decorated with fine undulating leaves above the foot, see inv. no. 1805,0703.175. Another example at Petworth shows a similar decorative scheme with leaves above the foot, floral decoration and face handles, in this case carved in the shape of a horned Ammon, which was particularly popular during the second half of the 1st century A.D., see J. Raeder, Die antiken Skulpturen in Petworth House, Mainz, 2000, no. 90, pp. 223-224.
Thomas Hope (1769-1831) was born in Amsterdam to John Hope, a banker of Scottish origin, and Philippina Barbara van der Hoeven. He embarked on an extensive Grand Tour in 1787, during which time he sketched architectural remains in ancient lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. He continued to travel for several years, revisiting Italy and also journeying to Egypt in 1797 and to Athens in 1799 in order to pursue his interest in antiquities. With the Napoleonic disturbances in Europe, Hope took a hiatus from his travels until 1815.
Thomas Hope amassed an impressive art collection, chiefly during his stay in Italy; the collection was further augmented by his youngest brother, Henry Philip Hope. His collecting interests may very well have been sparked by his father, who had been a patron of Giambattista Piranesi; and by one of his cousins who was acquainted with the scholar Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717 - 1768), author of History of Ancient Art, and the collector Cardinal Albani; and perhaps also by his uncle, Henry Hope, who unsuccessfully attempted to purchase part of the Borghese collection of classical marbles.
Thomas Hope continued to collect antiquities right up to his death and transferred part of the collection to his country house The Deepdene in 1824-25, to which a new wing had just been added to accommodate them. There are no details of where this vase was displayed at Duchess Street, but in Hope Marbles the caption reads “in the right hand closet entering the Theatre from conservatory”. Waywell op. cit, pp. 55-56: “a few minor antiquities were also displayed in a small room between the Theatre and the Sculpture Gallery, which was entered from the conservatory. …it is referred to…as a closet by Britton. Here, in addition to Thorvalsen’s allegorical relief inscribed ‘A Genio Lumen’ [now in the Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen, no. 518a], were the following pieces: "cinerary urn no. 91….”.
The downfall of the world famous Hope Collection of ancient marbles and vases began with the inheritance of Deepdene in 1884, by the grandson of Thomas Hope, Lord Francis Hope, who was only 18 years old at the time. He was declared bankrupt in 1894, forcing the sale of various paintings and the famous Hope blue diamond for £120,000. Deepdene was rented out to various tenants for the next 20 years and the collection fell into disrepair, with most of the antiquities moved into storage in Deepdene’s cellars or man-made tunnels behind the house. In 1912 the estates were placed into the hands of the receivers and the greater part of the Hope collection of ancient marbles was sold at Christie’s on Tuesday 24th July 1917.
The 1917 catalogue note to the vase states that “This very fine vase, which is in excellent preservation, is delicately carved throughout in low relief…A manuscript note among the Hope papers states that a facsimile vase is (1795) in the Museo Grimani at Venice”, which one would assume implies that the present vase was purchased as early as 1795. The urn was certainly in the Hope collection by c.1810-1813, where it was viewed by Rev. Fosbrooke, who drew the vase for his set of engravings.
At the 1917 Hope sale Colnaghi’s bought 3 pieces from the Hope sale (lots 209, 240 and 259) on behalf of the Dutch collector, dealer and auctioneer Anton Mensing (1866-1936), noted in their day book as Frederick Muller, the Dutch auction house that Mensing owned. The piece stayed with Mensing until its sale, by Frederick Muller & Co., on 9 October 1940.
Anton Mensing (1866-1936) began his career as a bookbinder in the Amsterdam antiquarian bookdealers Frederick Muller in 1885. In 1892 Mensing became a partner in the firm, and in 1899 had the opportunity to take the reins and venture into art auctions. Under his energetic leadership Frederick Muller became the first international art auction house in the Netherlands. An impressive saleroom was designed by the brothers Johan and Adolf van Gendt with beautiful views onto the Binnen Amstel and the Halvemaansbrug and his first assistants were Frits Lugt (paintings, drawings and prints), W.A. van Buuren (decorative arts department) and Frederik Casparus Wieder (books and manuscripts). In 1923 his son Bernard joined the firm and together with his hardworking team he organised one auction after another, with the firm finally closing its doors in the early 1960s.
This extremely fine cinerary urn is delicately carved with a deep band of gently rippling leaves, with twin Medusa masks below a wide band of richly trailing foliage. The ornate handles are in the form of characterful Pan heads. The lid, lower fluted body, foot and neck and curving horns of the handles are well-matched 18th Century restorations. Another example from the Townley collection at the British Museum is similarly decorated with fine undulating leaves above the foot, see inv. no. 1805,0703.175. Another example at Petworth shows a similar decorative scheme with leaves above the foot, floral decoration and face handles, in this case carved in the shape of a horned Ammon, which was particularly popular during the second half of the 1st century A.D., see J. Raeder, Die antiken Skulpturen in Petworth House, Mainz, 2000, no. 90, pp. 223-224.