A Marble Urn and Lid ("The Stowe Sarcophagus") , Rome, circa A.D. 1770-1780

carved in front with a procession of priests moving to right and leading a bull to sacrifice at an altar, each of the short sides carved with a diminutive bust of a man in a shell beneath a rectangular panel, all within a festooned garland, on the right side the panel inscribed, 'D.M. Antonia Pacuvio fecit sibi et Erennio filio suo piissimo Imperatoris Trajani Caesaris Augusti Germanici servo dispensatori Montaniano," the lid in the form of a couch or kline with turned feet and ram's heads at each end, the top of the lid carved with a snake in low relief and hollowed out in part to receive a separately made reclining figure.

said to have been found on the road from Rome to Tivoli
George Nugent Temple Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (1753-1813), Stowe, Buckinghamshire, acquired in Rome
by descent to Richard Plantagenet Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1797–1861) (Christie's, Stowe, August 21st, 1848, no. 745)
Purnell B. Purnell, Stanscombe Park, Gloucestershire (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, May 8th, 1872, no. 550)

J. Seeley, Stowe. A Description of the House and Gardens of the Most Noble and Puissant Prince, George Grenville Nugent Temple, Marquis of Buckingham, London, 1798, p. 55
James Dallaway, Anecdotes of the Arts in England, London, 1800, p. 383
J. Britton, The Beauties of England and Wales, or, Delineations, topographical, historical, and descriptive, of each county, vol. I, London, 1801, p. 321
Stowe, 1798, p. 54
David Hughson, London; being an accurate history and description of the British metropolis and its neighbourhood, vol. 4, London, 1807, p. 528
Stowe. A Description of the House and Gardens of the Most Noble Richard Grenville Nugent Chandos Temple, Duke of Buckingham & Chandos, London, 1832, p. 43
George Lipscomb, The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckinghamshire, vol. 3, London, 1847, p. 89
Henry Rumsey Forster, The Stowe Catalogue Priced and Annotated, London, 1848, p. 47, lot no. 745, engraving between pp. 174 and 175
CIL VI 3157: E. Borman, G. Henzen, and Chr. Huelsen, Inscriptiones falsae urbis romae (Corpus inscriptionum latinarum, vol. VI, part V), Berlin, 1885, p. 244, no. 3517 (for the inscription)
Country Life, vol. 183, 1989, p. 224, illus. (coadestone cast)
Allison Kelly, Mrs. Coade's Stone, 1997, p. 69
Sotheby's, London, November 29th, 2002, no. 10, illus. (coadestone cast)

Original base and reclining figure on top of lid now lost. Front left corner of box repaired with minor losses along breakline, large chip on top of back left corner, several chips along top edge of box, including whole section of rim missing above the three figures at left. Fresh chip on lower part of portrait medallion on uninscribed short side. Lid is in good condition with minor abrasions to top surface and chips along raised short sides and corners, and appears to have been carved from a reused block of marble (see truncated sunken panels in back). There are two rusty iron pins sticking out the back of the lid, perhaps indicating that a piece of marble was fitted there and is now missing. Lot is sold with modern wood base replicating general form and proportions of original marble base.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present urn was long considered to be one of the most important antiquities in the collections of the Dukes of Buckingham before their dispersal in 1847. In fact, the "Stowe Sarcophagus" is one of the most ambitious pseudo-antiques ever produced by late 18th-century Roman workshops for their English clientele. The engraving of 1847 and the coadestone cast show that the urn originally rested on a highly ornate marble base typical of Piranesi's production. The 1798 description of Stowe by J. Seeley specifies that "the covering to it is a mattress, upon which lies a snake, and a human figure of very capital workmanship is reclining in the folds of it."