WEDGWOOD BLACK BASALT TWO-HANDLED MONUMENTAL VOLUTE KRATER VASE

WEDGWOOD BLACK BASALT TWO-HANDLED MONUMENTAL VOLUTE KRATER VASE circa 1797-1800, impressed uppercase mark, after the Antique Apulian Krater form, the upright handles applied in high-relief with cherubic female masks, the terminal attachment of the handles at the shoulder flanked by sculpted swan-shaped protomes, the domed foot with a flaring rolled edge, the interior with sump, h: 36 in.

Provenance: With Juan Portela Antiques, New York.
Yves St. Laurent & Pierre Berge Collection, Pierre Hotel, New York.
Sotheby's, New York, 30 November 2004, lot 25.
Paul Lauer Collection, Part II,
Skinner, Boston, 6 October 2016, sale 2940B, lot 189.
Jeffrey Milkins Collection, no. 869.

Catalogue Note:
The form of the present vase is derived from a vessel illustrated in Pierre d'Hancarville's publication, 'Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities from the cabinet of the Honorable William Hamilton', Vol. 1, pl. 52. In contrast to the highly ornamented Apulian design source, the undecorated surface of the present example creates a striking profile.

Exhibitions: Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina, 'Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries', 9 February 2020 â 3 January 2021, no. 23.

Literature: Brian Gallagher, 'Classic Black', op. cit., exhibition catalogue, p. 98-99, no. 23, and a detail on p. 6.