A PAIR OF ITALIAN PORPHYRY VASES WITH COVERS ROME, CIRCA 1700

Dario del Bufalo, Porphyry: Red Imperial, Power and Religion, 2012, p.145, V.50.

There is a great coherence to the Roman production of porphyry objects, both in figural carving (busts, reliefs) but also on ornamental pieces (vases). The present pair of vases, therefore, is part of a consistent group that share the same model which enjoyed a great success in Rome, a model which combines the weightiness of unadorned sections with the dynamism of gadrooned or spiralled sections, with several degrees of depth and boldness of carving.

This coherence derives essentially from the fact that only a small number the carvers were able to work in such a specialised material. Only a few names are known as sculptors and fewer are known that were focused on producing vases. Silvio Cacci “da Velletri”, is still an obscure figure, but we do know that he delivered two vases to Villa Borghese and receipts of payment (1646-47) to him from the Doria-Pamphilj family suggest he was responsible for some of the outstanding vases still in the eponymous Roman palace. Lorenzo Nizza is also another specialised sculptor who worked for the Borghese in this field.

Interestingly, when the Cardinal Richelieu acquired 122 statues and five vases in 1633 – four of which porphyry – he ordered a collection of drawings of these from Giovanni Angelo Canini. One of the porphyry vases depicted is comparable to the present lot with the same plain body and arrow shaped handles (fig.1).