A LARGE ITALIAN ALABASTER 'MEDICI VASE', ON PEDESTAL
A LARGE ITALIAN ALABASTER 'MEDICI VASE', ON PEDESTAL
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This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal.… Read more
A LARGE ITALIAN ALABASTER 'MEDICI VASE', ON PEDESTAL

LATE 19TH CENTURY

Details
A LARGE ITALIAN ALABASTER 'MEDICI VASE', ON PEDESTAL
LATE 19TH CENTURY
Of campana form, flanked by two handles and carved with a standing figures to the centre between a band of fruiting grape vine and acanthus leaves, on a column-form pedestal and mahogany foot, the interior of the vase fitted for electricity
40 in. (101.5 cm.) high, the vase; 68 ½ in. (174 cm.) high overall; 33 in. (84 cm.) diameter
Special notice
This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Brought to you by

Giles Forster
Giles Forster

Lot Essay

The present vase is modelled after the celebrated Antique marble original believed to date from the first century A.D., first recorded at the Villa Medici in Rome in the late 16th century, and now in the Uffizi, Florence. The frieze is said to depict the Athenians gathered at Delphi before the Trojan War, as well as satyrs and a female figure, likely Iphigenia, seated below a statue of Artemis. Along with the Borghese Vase, with which it is often paired, the Medici Vase achieved widespread fame through the publication of engravings such as those made by Piranesi and published in Vasi, Candelabri, Cippi, sarcofagi, tripodi, lucerne, ed ornamenti antichi (1778). Together, the vases were regarded as being among the greatest surviving examples of Classical art, and were attributed by some early writers to the great Greek sculptor, painter, and architect, Phidias. Reflective of the Roman taste for lavish garden ornament, monumental vases of this type were de rigueur for any parterre from the mid-17th century onwards. Although 19th century replications on this scale are rare, compare another in the in the Parade Staircase at the Anichkov Palace, St. Petersburg.

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