A unusually large pair of patinated bronze Warwick... Lot 28

A unusually large pair of patinated bronze Warwick vases, on rouge marble base. Foundry mark from H. Luppens et Cie. Bronzes d’Art, Bruxelles. Belgium. Ca. 1880. Measurements: 33 x 41 x 29 cm. The bronze vases have a rich brown patina and is decorated with leaves and Bacchic masques, rope-twist handles, round base on square rouge marble plinth. The Warwick Vase is an ancient Roman marble vase which was discovered by the Scottish antiquarian Gavin Hamilton in 1771 at Hadrians Villa in Rome. The vase was one of many fine sculptures with which the Emperor Hadrian adorned the gardens of his palatial villa. The vase found in fragments was reconstructed by Piranesi for Sir William Hamilton, British envoy to the Court of Naples. From Hamilton’s collection it passed to his nephew George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick, from where it’s title derives. Luppens & Co was a renowned bronze foundry with workshops in Saint-Gilles, 15 rue de Denmark, Brussels. It specialized in art bronzes, furniture, clocks and lamps. The company was established in 1850 and continued throughout the late 19th century. Luppens were winning a gold medal at the Paris International Exposition of 1889, but there was a steady decline in output from the 1920s and trade finally ceased around 1970