Urn with the Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite
possibly French School
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1701 - 1799
Materials
Sandstone
Measurements
26 in (Height); 26 in (Diameter)
Place of origin
France
Order this imageCollection
Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
NT 516648
Summary
Stone, urn depicting the Triumph of Poseidon and Amphitrite, probably French School, 1701-99. A stone urn with a frieze carved in high relief depicting Poseidon/Neptune, god of the sea, with his consort, Amphitrite/Salacia, driving a triumphal chariot drawn by hippocampi. They are heralded by Triton, the fish-tailed son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, who embraces a Nereid, a swirling cloak encircling them, and various attendants. Mounted on a stone pedestal with chamfered edges.
Full description
The frieze may be based on designs by Jean Le Pautre (Paris 1618 - Paris 1682) published in 'Frises, feuillages ou tritons marins antiques et modernes' (see, for example, inv.no. 2012.136.225.4, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), the urn itself loosely adapted from the Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite vase made for the Château de Versailles by Étienne Le Hongre (1628-90) (inv.no. MR 3468). Alice Rylance-Watson 2020
Provenance
Bequeathed to the National Trust by Huttleston Rogers Broughton, 1st Lord Fairhaven (1896-1966) with the house and the rest of the contents.
Credit line
Anglesey Abbey, The Fairhaven Collection (The National Trust)
Makers and roles
possibly French School, sculptor
References
Christie, Manson & Woods 1971: The National Trust, Anglesey Abbey, Cambridge. Inventory: Furniture, Textiles, Porcelain, Bronzes, Sculpture and Garden Ornaments’, 1971, p. 168.