Vase
Summary
'Etruscan' vase, stoneware, black basalt, with classical reliefs depicting Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides, applied in red stoneware. Urn shaped vase with rounded flat shoulder, narrow neck and flared rim, on black wooden foot and plinth. Decorated in applied red stoneware relief, on one side depicting Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides with the four daughters of Atlas and a serpent entwined in a tree, on the other side an untitled scene of classical figures. Border below of red stoneware Greek key pattern. Two upturned loop handles at shoulder, terminals edged in red border of enclosed quatrefoils. Narrow neck with red anthemion band, wide flared rim with border of enclosed quatrefoils in red.
Display Label
Grand Tour and Grand Style The Influence of Travel Improvements in European travel during the 1700s had a wide-ranging impact on British culture. A particularly significant influence was the Grand Tour, which became almost obligatory for young gentlemen. Grand Tourists were led across Europe by tutors to study art, history and politics for two or three years. The Grand Tour focused on Italy, particularly Rome, and often incorporated new archaeological sites such as those at Herculaneum and Pompei, near Naples. Ancient antiquities were heavily trafficked across Europe and continental works of art flooded into Britain. A period of especially active collecting took place between the end of the Seven Years War in 1763 and the rise of Napoleon in the 1790s. As more artists and designers also visited the continent their work became increasingly informed by travel. The serious themes of classical antiquity and European art led to a new departure in painting called the Grand Style. This championed classical, historical or literary subjects, and inspired radical changes in portraiture and landscape. Widespread interest in Greek and Roman remains also fostered fresh interpretations of ancient designs by pioneers of decorative art such as Josiah Wedgwood.
Object Name
Vase
Creators Name
Date Created
c 1785
Dimensions
Whole: 30.3cm x 23cm
accession number
1906.61
Collection Group
Place of creation
Etruria
Medium
black basalt stoneware
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