Copy of the Portland Vase

Object Name: 
Copy of the Portland Vase

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Object Name: 
Copy of the Portland Vase
Place Made: 
Accession Number: 
92.7.2
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 28 cm, W: 18.6 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
about 1790
Credit Line: 
Purchased with donated funds from the Clara S. Peck Endowment Fund
Web Description: 
This is number 3 of the “first edition” of Wedgwood’s ceramic copies of the Portland Vase.
Department: 
Provenance: 
Rakow Estate, Juliette K. (Mrs. Leonard S.) (d. 1992), Former Collection
Barker, Richard, Former Collection
Rakow, Leonard S., Former Collection
1974-10-22
to
1992-12-10
Color: 
Material: 
Inscription: 
JOSIAH WEDGWOOD/Jubilee Exhibits/1980/V1025/No.453/1st Bank of the U.S.
Label
inside
1984 HAMMOND MUSEUM
Label
on base paper
3
Mark
written in pencil on inside rim
Primary Description: 
Opaque white over black, Jasperware (ceramic); thrown; molded, applied, ground, polished. Jar with 2 handles. Rim everted with rounded lip; cylindrical neck curves to shoulder with rounded profile; body tapers to bottom; base flat. Handles start at neck; lower ends attached to overlay at shoulder. Body decorated with frieze from lower handle attachments to lowest surviving part of body, divided by masks of Pan, which hang by horns from lower attachments of handles. Masks have flowing locks, mustaches, beards, eyes, and open mouths. One side: naked man holds drape, moves to right in front of 2 pillars, behind grows small sapling; his left arm entwined with right arm of woman (below). Eros, holding bow and torch, flies to right, glancing back to left, ahead of young man. Woman, sitting on rock with head turned back in profile to left, wears mantle wrapped around her legs; left hand supports snakelike creature that rises toward her face; right arm entwined with left arm of young man (above). Beyond tree, bearded man stands, profile to left, chin on hand, right foot on stones at base of tree; between him and mask below, another tree. Other side: square pillar surmounted by square capital, man sits to left on rocks with head turned back to right, naked, with drape behind him on rocks and across thighs. In center, half-draped woman reclines to left on same rocks, with head turned to right; holds torch in left hand, right arm arched, with hand on head; on ground at feet, square block of worked stone; behind her, a tree. Second half-draped woman sits on separate rock, to right, looking left, holding scepter. Underside of base decorated with upper part of figure of young man, turned to right; head bent forward, in profile; right hand raised, with finger to lips; cap on his head which ends in ribbon hanging across cheek and neck; short-sleeved tunic over long-sleeved garment; cloak billows out behind him, fastened at throat by brooch; foliage above and behind him.
Curious and Curiouser: Surprising Finds from the Rakow Library
Venue(s)
Rakow Library, Corning Museum of Glass 2017-04-08 through 2018-02-17
From advertisements for glass eyes to patents for preserving the dead in glass; from glasshouse dollars to drawings by worldfamous artists such as Salvador Dali and Georgia O’Keeffe. These are some of the rarely seen wonders in Curious and Curiouser: Surprising Finds from the Rakow Library. Artists, researchers, authors, and glass enthusiasts of all kinds use the Rakow Library’s holdings to learn more about glass, which often leads to voyages of discovery in unexpected directions. Come discover how the rare collections and curiosities in the Rakow Library have inspired others and how they can inspire you.
Ancient Rome and America
Venue(s)
National Constitution Center 2010-02-19 through 2010-08-01
 
Venue(s)
J. Paul Getty Museum 2007-10-18 through 2008-01-14
Corning Museum of Glass 2008-02-15 through 2008-05-27
Ecouri ale Romei antice in sticlaria moderna (2008) illustrated, p. 86, top left; BIB# AI97179
Roman Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass, Volume Three (2003) illustrated, pp. 177-178, #1202; BIB# 58895
The Corning Museum of Glass: A Decade of Glass Collecting 1990-1999 (2000) illustrated, p. 8, second from left; BIB# 65446
English Cameo Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass (1994) illustrated, pp. 8-9, 59, fig. 2; BIB# 35913
Important Acquisitions from the Rakow Collection (1993) illustrated, p. 138, #1, second from left; BIB# AI32225
The Corning Museum of Glass Annual Report 1992 (1993) illustrated, p. 7, second from left; BIB# AI96377
Masterpieces of Wedgwood in British Museum (1984) pp. 112-125; p. 149, #3; BIB# 26414
Sotheby's London (1974-10-22) Lot 182;