Urns, Planters & Finials

‘A vase with a rounded body, usually a narrowed mouth and often a foot’. The Urn, alongside Statues and Fountains, is one of the key elements in any classic garden and as such can be traced back to Antiquity. It is here that many of the models we are familiar with today were conceived and with the rebirth in the Italian Renaissance of interest in the classical world, newly discovered (excavated) models laid the foundations for the designs of the preceding centuries. The most famous and much copied examples are the Vases Borghese, discovered around 1569 near the present day Casino Massimo in Rome, and Medici, discovered around the same time at the Villa Medici also in Rome. The Borghese Vase came to its namesake Villa in 1645 and there it stayed for 150 years until purchased by Napoleon and transported back to Paris around 1809, eventually being on permanent display at the Louvre. The Medici Vase, now in the Uffizzi Florence, is often paired with the Borghese Vase. One sees these models being copied in Terracotta by Coade and then Blashfield, in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. However, they were not only copied in terracotta – stone, marble, lead, bronze, and cast iron versions have been made by many makers, such is the iconic power of these beautiful urns. The Warwick and Townley vases, both discovered by Gavin Hamilton, the former at Hadrian’s Villa in 1770, have also been much copied. Their stories give a sense of how it was in the 18th Century with the great collecting wealth of the English Country House and the Grand Tour that developed the English love of Neo Classical ornamentation in the garden. The Warwick vase was excavated damaged and missing its socle (base), however the cost of restoration was so high that Hamilton was forced to sell it to Sir William Hamilton who on completion of the restoration then offered it at a price that was too high even for the British Museum. The Warwick vase was then bequeathed to Sir William Hamilton’s nephew, the Second Earl of ‘Warwick’ and by descent until sold in 1977 to form part of the Burrell collection in Glasgow. The Townley vase however did make it to the British Museum after it was bequeathed by Charles Townley who had purchased it from Gavin Hamilton in 1773 for the princely sum of £250. Again we see copies of these vases made by the makers of the day, most noticeably in terracotta Blashfield and in artificial stone in the mid 19th Century by Austin and Seeley. With our interest in the classic designs discovered, urn, vase and finial designs were developed further by the great artists and craftsmen of the 17th – 19th Centuries in all materials seen fit for the garden. Delvaux and Scheemaker’s marble vases for Anglesey Abbey, circa 1725, show a clear homage to the Borghese vase, whereas designs by Lord Burlington and William Kent develop further the classic look that belongs to the English Country House, as seen for example at Castle Howard, Chiswick House, Rousham to name but a few. Stone and marble urns were expensive to have carved in the 18th Century, so lead was also employed as a more affordable and flexible alternative medium to create garden ornament. The vase of the Four Seasons by John Van Nost the Elder, circa 1705, at Melbourne, shows his artistry and skill on a grand scale. Wrest Park has some fine examples of lead urns dating around 1735 to designs by Cibber. However urns and vases were produced in greater numbers by John Cheere working out of his Hyde Park yard formerly owned by Van Nost. The industry for urns and vases in all materials continued in earnest. However, we see a slight dip in demand in the late 18th Century when the likes of Capability Brown cleared the way for nature to take centre stage. Urns and vases following along the lines of the Campana, tall and thin, and the Tazza, wide and low, designs, were carved in styles and designs dictated by the fashions of the time as with art and furniture. This nod to fashion can clearly be seen in the cast iron urns by the Victorian maker Coalbrookdale through to the early 20th Century designs produced by the Bromsgrove Guild and the Compton Pottery. Throughout the 20th Century the classic designs have been reproduced and are still produced today, however many other makers from the bronze foundries of Naples to the great 19th Century French cast iron foundries of Val d’Osne also produced designs too numerous to mention. The Lidded Finial Urn [item 46] An elegant lidded urn having circular socle and square base. The campana shaped body having lobed decoration to the bowl with medallions to the rim. The shaped lid surmounted by a finial. Age patinated artificial stone. Shown raised upon the large Neo-Classical Pedestal. Overall height 2´ 9½˝ [84 cm] Overall width 1´ 10˝ [56 cm] Square at base 1´ [30 cm] The Hevingham Hall Terrace Urn [item 47] A classical age patinated artificial stone Tazza urn having semi-lobed body with everted rim, raised upon a fluted socle on a square base. After the original 19th century terrace urns formerly at Hevingham Hall, Suffolk. Illustrated with the large pedestal with raised top section. Overall height 2´ [61 cm] Overall diameter 2´ 3˝ [69 cm] Square at base 1´ [30 cm] The Gothic Stone Planter [item 48] An age patinated artificial stone planter, in four sections, of hexagonal form pierced with Gothic trefoils, after the original element from the Palace of Westminster. The original formed part of a spire section of the Gothic revival work of Wyatt on the Houses of Parliament, circa. 1805, and was probably removed following the disastrous fire of 1834 and the rebuilding by Sir Charles Barry. The architectural elements were given to prominent political figures of the day and were used to decorate the grounds of the great estates. Height 2´ 1˝ [63½ cm] External diameter 4´ 7˝ [140 cm] Internal diameter 2´ 11˝ [89 cm] The Tazza Urn [item 49] An elegant hand carved natural limestone Tazza Urn having egg and dart carved rim, lobed body with a ribbed foot and square base. Illustrated with the slim limestone pedestal. Overall height 1´ 11˝ [58 cm] Overall diameter 2´ 8˝ [81 cm] Square at base 1´ 1½˝ [34 cm] The Lion Mask Planter [item 50] After the antique original, a fine quality lead urn, of oval form having applied lion masks below the rim. Drainage holes to base. Overall height 1´ 8˝ [51 cm] Overall diameter 1´ 10˝ [56 cm] Diameter at base 10˝ [25 cm] The Renaissance Urn [item 51] A fine cast lead urn having foliate handles surmounting the main body which depicts a scene from antiquity. The underside of the urn has leaf motifs with a decorative circular socle. Overall height 2´ [61cm] Diameter at top 1´ 3˝ [38cm] Diameter at base 11˝ [28cm] The Square Cistern [item 52] A classical hand made English square lead cistern having inset decorative elements to each elevation. The decorative elements enclosed within the panels depict a lion mask, mythical sea creature, mermaid, female mask, wheat sheaf and grotesque mask. Overall height 1´ 8˝ [51 cm] Overall width 1´ 9˝ [53 cm] Overall depth 1´ 9˝ [53 cm] The Rectangular Cistern [item 53] A classical hand made English rectangular lead cistern having inset decorative elements to each elevation. The decorative elements enclosed within the panels depict a lion mask, mythical sea creature, mermaid, female mask, wheat sheaf and grotesque mask. Overall height 1´ 8˝ [51 cm] Overall width 3´ 4˝ [102 cm] Overall depth 1´ 8˝ [51 cm]