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Lot Essay
The body of this fine cinerary urn is delicately carved with a band of gently rippling leaves, two Medusa masks and an elegant band of scrolling foliage. The ornate handles take the form of expressive heads of Pan. The foot, including the fluting below the leaves, neck and curving horns of the handles are well-matched circa 18th century restorations. For a similar urn likewise decorated with leaves above the foot, see the example formerly in the collection of Charles Townley and now in the British Museum, fig. 46 in B. F. Cook, The Townley Marbles. For an urn at Petworth with a similar decorative scheme including a band of foliage but with handles in the form of Zeus-Ammon, see J. Raeder, Die antiken Skulpturen in Petworth House, no. 90.
This cinerary urn once formed part of the celebrated collection assembled by Thomas Hope (1769-1831). Born in Amsterdam to a well-to-do family of bankers of Scottish origin, Hope embarked on an extensive Grand Tour in 1787, during which he sketched the architectural remains of ancient lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. He continued to travel for several years, revisiting Italy and also journeying to Egypt in 1797 and Athens in 1799, to pursue his interest in antiquity.
Hope’s collection of ancient art was one of the most extensive of his day. After Hope’s family decamped for London in 1794, fleeing Napoleon's advance on Holland, Hope purchased Sir William Hamilton’s collection of ancient Greek vases en-masse for £1,000 in 1801. By this time his collection of ancient sculpture was well-established and included the famed Hope Athena (now in the Los Angeles County Musuem of Art, see no. 1 in G.B. Waywell, op. cit.) and the Hope Dionysos (now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, see no. 429 in C.A. Picón, et al., Art of the Classical World in the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Recognizing the need to properly display his collection of antiquities, Hope purchased a residence on Duchess Street in London in 1799 and took an active role in the design and installation of the galleries (his book Household Furniture and Interior Decoration is said to have introduced the term “interior decoration” to the English language).
It is not known when or where Hope acquired the present urn, but it was certainly in his collection by circa 1810-1813 when it was engraved by Rev. T.D. Fosbrooke for his unpublished volume on the Hope Collection. The catalogue note to Christie’s 1917 sale further states that “a facsimile vase is (1795) in the Museo Grimani in Venice,” thus indicating that this urn may have been acquired by Hope as early as 1795. The current location of the Grimani copy is unknown. By 1824-1825 Hope transferred many of his sculptures, including the present urn, to his country residence, The Deepdene, south of London, where it is recorded as being displayed “in the right hand closet entering Theater from Conservatory” (see Waywell, op. cit., p. 108). It is known that Hope had a handful of antiquities displayed in a small room between his theater and sculpture gallery, which was entered from the conservatory. J. Britton’s manuscript list of the contents of Deepdene (op. cit.) notes that the urn was displayed alongside Roman marble fragments of capitals and columns, a helmeted head (perhaps that of Athena) and an allegorical relief by Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen.
After Hope’s death, Deepdene and the collection remained in the family and were ultimately inherited by his great-grandson, Lord Francis Pelham-Clinton-Hope (1866-1941). Financial difficulties forced Lord Francis to declare bankruptcy in 1894, which precipitated the sale of the famous Hope Diamond in 1894 for £120,000. In 1912 the Hope estates were placed into receivership and the greater part of Hope’s collection of ancient sculpture, including the present lot, was offered at Christie’s London on 23-24 July 1917. At the sale, this urn was purchased by P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. for 240 gns. (£252) on behalf of Anton Wilhelmus Mari Mensing (1866-1936), the highest price paid for a cinerary urn or vase. It was then acquired by the current owner’s family in 1940 from Mensing’s firm, Frederick Muller & Co.
This cinerary urn once formed part of the celebrated collection assembled by Thomas Hope (1769-1831). Born in Amsterdam to a well-to-do family of bankers of Scottish origin, Hope embarked on an extensive Grand Tour in 1787, during which he sketched the architectural remains of ancient lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. He continued to travel for several years, revisiting Italy and also journeying to Egypt in 1797 and Athens in 1799, to pursue his interest in antiquity.
Hope’s collection of ancient art was one of the most extensive of his day. After Hope’s family decamped for London in 1794, fleeing Napoleon's advance on Holland, Hope purchased Sir William Hamilton’s collection of ancient Greek vases en-masse for £1,000 in 1801. By this time his collection of ancient sculpture was well-established and included the famed Hope Athena (now in the Los Angeles County Musuem of Art, see no. 1 in G.B. Waywell, op. cit.) and the Hope Dionysos (now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, see no. 429 in C.A. Picón, et al., Art of the Classical World in the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Recognizing the need to properly display his collection of antiquities, Hope purchased a residence on Duchess Street in London in 1799 and took an active role in the design and installation of the galleries (his book Household Furniture and Interior Decoration is said to have introduced the term “interior decoration” to the English language).
It is not known when or where Hope acquired the present urn, but it was certainly in his collection by circa 1810-1813 when it was engraved by Rev. T.D. Fosbrooke for his unpublished volume on the Hope Collection. The catalogue note to Christie’s 1917 sale further states that “a facsimile vase is (1795) in the Museo Grimani in Venice,” thus indicating that this urn may have been acquired by Hope as early as 1795. The current location of the Grimani copy is unknown. By 1824-1825 Hope transferred many of his sculptures, including the present urn, to his country residence, The Deepdene, south of London, where it is recorded as being displayed “in the right hand closet entering Theater from Conservatory” (see Waywell, op. cit., p. 108). It is known that Hope had a handful of antiquities displayed in a small room between his theater and sculpture gallery, which was entered from the conservatory. J. Britton’s manuscript list of the contents of Deepdene (op. cit.) notes that the urn was displayed alongside Roman marble fragments of capitals and columns, a helmeted head (perhaps that of Athena) and an allegorical relief by Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen.
After Hope’s death, Deepdene and the collection remained in the family and were ultimately inherited by his great-grandson, Lord Francis Pelham-Clinton-Hope (1866-1941). Financial difficulties forced Lord Francis to declare bankruptcy in 1894, which precipitated the sale of the famous Hope Diamond in 1894 for £120,000. In 1912 the Hope estates were placed into receivership and the greater part of Hope’s collection of ancient sculpture, including the present lot, was offered at Christie’s London on 23-24 July 1917. At the sale, this urn was purchased by P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. for 240 gns. (£252) on behalf of Anton Wilhelmus Mari Mensing (1866-1936), the highest price paid for a cinerary urn or vase. It was then acquired by the current owner’s family in 1940 from Mensing’s firm, Frederick Muller & Co.