Consulter la cote et le prix de Roman School (Late 18Th Century), Drawing Of A Roman Cinerary Urn In Oriental Alabaster, 1722

Description : ROMAN SCHOOL (LATE 18TH CENTURY)DRAWING OF A ROMAN CINERARY URN IN ORIENTAL ALABASTER, KNOWN AS THE URN OF LIVILLAWatercolour, pencil, and inkInscribed 'English fecit for the vase' (lower right), further extensively inscribed (lower centre)91 x 56.5cm (35¾ x 22 in.)Provenance:Mr. R. Doughty, Leominster, United KingdomThe ancient Roman urn of Livilla was discovered in 1777 in the remains of the Mausoleum of Augustus and takes its name from six travertine funerary cippi - the fragments of which are reproduced in the lower section of the present sheet - each bearing the name of a member of the Imperial family, and the nearest to the urn was that of Julia Livilla (c. 18-41 A.D.). She was the sister of Caligula, daughter of Germanicus and great-granddaughter of Augustus. Given the prominent location where the urn was found, its imposing size and exquisite material, it is possible that it did once contain Livilla's ashes, or those of another member of the imperial family.The urn is in the Vatican Museums and is most probably carved of Alabastro di Palombara, often referred to as Oriental, or Egyptian, alabaster. The lustrous patterns and changing hues of the alabaster's rings and veining have been so meticulously recorded , that it was most likely made in Rome, in the presence of the object. The inscription and scale in English indicates that it was made for a British audience, likely a Grand Tourist visiting the Eternal City. The art historian Professor Cinzia Sicca has suggested that given the date of the excavation of the Urn of Livilla and its presence in Rome, our sheet could have been commissioned by an agent such as the prominent antiquary Thomas Jenkins (c. 1722-1798), who employed draughtsmen including Claude François Nicole (c. 1700-1783), Nicolas Mosman (1727-1787) or Friedrich Anders (born c. 1734), all of whom specialised in drawings recording antiquities. Professor Sicca has also suggested that the present work may have served as the model for two drawings of the Urn of Livilla in the collection of the London Society of Antiquaries and perhaps the former was owned by a member of the Society, who offered to have it studied and copied. It is interesting to note that, like the present watercolour, the drawing in the Society of Antiquaries (Classical Antiquities Album 10) illustrates the alabaster urn without any cracks on its surface, nor the inscription added at the behest of pope Pius VI at its base, characteristics that reinforce the potential connection between the two drawings.
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