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Anonymous — Vase with snake shaped handles with antique elements
Anonymous

Vase with snake shaped handles with antique elements

1650

This alabaster vase exemplifies the grandeur of seventeenth century Roman decorative arts, featuring a bulbous body with subtly undulating striations in warm cream and amber tones. The vessel is elevated on a pedestal base and adorned with a pair of serpentine handles carved in high relief, their sinuous forms echoing classical ornamentation. The translucent quality of the alabaster is enhanced by the stone's natural veining, creating an ethereal surface that shifts in appearance with changing light. The imposing scale of approximately ninety by one hundred nine centimeters positions this as a prestige object, likely intended for a patrician collection or ecclesiastical setting.

Medium
Alabaster
Dimensions
Location
David Zwirner 69th Street, New York, NY

Notes

From the exhibition 'Set in Stone' at David Zwirner 69th Street, NYC, May 12 to June 26, 2026, in collaboration with Galerie Kugel, Paris. Tombstone date: Rome, c. 1650.

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About this work

Anonymous, Vase with snake shaped handles with antique elements, 1650

This alabaster vase exemplifies the grandeur of seventeenth century Roman decorative arts, featuring a bulbous body with subtly undulating striations in warm cream and amber tones. The vessel is elevated on a pedestal base and adorned with a pair of serpentine handles carved in high relief, their sinuous forms echoing classical ornamentation. The translucent quality of the alabaster is enhanced by the stone's natural veining, creating an ethereal surface that shifts in appearance with changing light. The imposing scale of approximately ninety by one hundred nine centimeters positions this as a prestige object, likely intended for a patrician collection or ecclesiastical setting.

Medium
Alabaster
Dimensions
90.2 x 109.2 cm
Year
1650
Seen at
Adler Beatty, New York, NY

Related themes

Roman Sculpture, Alabaster, Translucent Stone, Grand Tour, Pedestal Form, Luxury Object, Relief Carving, Baroque, Vase, Decorative Arts, Antiquarian, Figurative Handles, Classical Revival, Hardstone Carving, Architectural Ornament, Cream Tones, Neoclassical, Vatican Workshop, Snake Handles, Seventeenth Century

More works by Anonymous

Collected by

Cleveland Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago