The Portland VaseThe Portland Vase is the most famous cameo-glass vessel from antiquity, probably made during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus (27BC - AD14). The scenes on the vessel have long perplexed and enchanted in equal measure. The subject is clearly one of love and marriage, but who are the figures and are they historical or mythological? This book offers an exciting new reading of the vase, setting it in the context of the dramatic relationships between the houses of Octavian, Antony and Cleopatra. It also explores the lively history of the vase, from the earliest records in Italy in 1601, to its purchase by Sir William Hamilton and the dukes of Portland, and its abiding influence on British craftsmen such as Josiah Wedgwood whose copies helped to make it famous. |
Common terms and phrases
Actium admired ancient cameos Antony's artists ashes Athens Barberini family Barberini Vase base disc blue glass Britain British craftsmen British glass British Museum British Museum's restorer Capitelli Cardinal del Monte Carpegna Cameo Cassiano dal Pozzo casts catalogue century the vase ceramic Charles Townley collection collector commissioned decorated Detail of figure Dionysos drawings Duchess of Portland Duke of Portland early Egypt eighteenth century engravings Erechtheum eventually figure F glass industry glass replica Grand Tour identified James Byres jasperware John Doubleday Josiah Wedgwood Julia Mamaea Lazzaro marble Monte del Grano Nicolas de Peiresc Octavian painter Palazzo Paper Museum Persica Philip Pargeter plaques Portland Vase Portland Vase fig precious stone probably published reading Rhea Silvia Roman Antiquities Roman cameo glass Rome Rubens sarcophagus scholars sculpture seventeenth-century Severus Alexander Severus Alexander's side Sir William Hamilton story survive from antiquity Susan Walker Teti tomb Vase played vase's original vessel white glass