Stock No: 16746

A rare cast iron Handyside urn after the the Medici Vase. This beautiful urn was manufactured by the renowned Andrew Handyside & Co Foundry, and as illustrated in the catalogue. This Medici Vase, now on display at the Uffizi in Florence, is decorated with the iconic bas-relief design running around the bell shaped krater. It follows the Renaissance tradition of making copies of archaeological discoveries for grand tourists and other wealthy patrons. The industrial revolution allowed such copies to be made in greater numbers in cast iron.

English, c.1851.

Pedestal base 15786 not included in the price.

Notes: The Handyside Foundry exhibited this model at the Great Exhibition of 1851, as it was, and still remains, one of the most popular subjects from antiquity.


The Handyside Foundry: Having returned from his uncle's engineering business in Russia, the young engineer Andrew Handyside took over the Britannia iron works in Derby in 1848, a foundry that was known for the quality of its casting, owing to the fine sand that could be found in the region. He made a wide range of materials in cast iron, from garden ornaments, to iron buildings and bridges.

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