Piranesi Vase
- Audio guide stop: 127
- Gallery: Room 1
- Maker: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
- Culture: Roman
- Date: 2ndC (antique parts)
- Object type: vase
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1868,0512.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you stands "The Piranesi Vase," a striking marble creation that marries ancient fragments with 18th-century craftsmanship. This vase rests on three sturdy legs and a triangular base, with a richly carved relief that features playful satyrs.
Though some may mistake it for mere pastiche, its frieze is a masterful restoration of original Roman fragments. These satyrs, once part of a Roman altar from the collection of Prince Francavilla, have been carefully reassembled into a scene of revelry and vintage.
Created by the famed hand of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, this work came together in his workshop in 1776. The vase was later acquired by Sir John Boyd on his Grand Tour of Italy. It eventually found its way to the British Museum, purchased from Hugh Johnston in 1868.
See it in person
Piranesi Vase is on display in Room 1 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 127, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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