A FRENCH BRONZE MODEL OF THE BORGHESE VASE

A FRENCH BRONZE MODEL OF THE BORGHESE VASE

AFTER THE ANTIQUE, LATE 19TH CENTURY

cast with a frieze of classical figures between a pair of mask handles, between an ovolo rim and stem knop, on a fluted base and square foot

21.5cm high, 15.5cm diameter

Catalogue Note

The Borghese Vase was discovered in 1566 in the garden of Salluste, in Rome and was bought by the Borghese family in 1645. In 1808, the French Emperor, Napoleon I, decided to buy a large portion of the Borghese Collection, amongst them the Borghese Vase which was then transported to the Louvre and has stayed there since 1811.

The vase would have been originally made for a wealthy Roman who used it to decorate the garden of his villa. It was made in Greece around the 1st century BC, and then shipped to Rome where the rich were looking to recreate the lavish opulence of Hellenistic Greece. The shape of the vase is based on a Greek crater: a vessel that was used at banquets to hold wine. The high relief decoration on the body also relates to its original function, showing Bacchus, the god of wine leaning against Ariadne, who is playing music to the ecstatic figures dancing around them.