ITALIE Première moitié du XIXe siècle

ITALIE Première moitié du XIXe siècle

PAIR OF CRATERIES Patinated and gilded bronze, porphyry
H. 51 cm, L. 17 cm
This pair of vases, which is very much in vogue among the
Hellenes, is reminiscent of the antiquomania that has irrigated artistic creation since the excavations carried out successively at Herculaneum (1738) and then at Pompeii (1748). The crater, a large vase originally used to mix water and wine, has here a purely decorative vocation. On the belly, the decoration of characters sitting on klismoï, is a reminder of this dreamy Antiquity. Splitting into a gilded bronze part and a porphyry part, the base reveals the patron's desire for pomp and circumstance. Witness to a taste present among the great European collectors of the early 19th century, these vases are also the milestone of a Hellenophily that will reach its peak in 1908 with the construction of the Villa Kérylos in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. Automatically translated by DeepL. To see the original version, click here.