Italian, probably 19th/ 20th century

Drouot, Paris, September or October 1996

As with the preceding pair of alabaster vases, this elegant, richly veined, urn is ultimately inspired by the antique cinerary urns found in excavations in and around the Eternal City and used to adorn the homes of Roman aristocrats. The form, with elongated body and handles below the neck, recalls a drawing of an alabaster ancient Roman Cinerary urn by Thomas Hardwick (1752-1829), 1777, in the RIBA archive (inv. no. RIBA66565). Both urns share the same form, which is a hybrid of the Greek neck amphora and hydra, with the Roman example being distinguished by a characteristic conical lid.

RELATED LITERATURE

R. Gnoli, Marmora Romana, Roma, 1988, fig. 226