A monumental Vienna-style vase and cover, last quarter 19th century

of baluster form with a slender neck upon a tapering foot, painted by Hans Johann Stadler, with two large oval medallions of classical figures in seascapes one titled Triumphzug Der Thetis, the other Die Sirenen,signed H. Stadler,  reserved on a deep blue ground highlighted with raised and tooled bérainesque scrollwork incorporating sculptural fountains, armour trophies and birds, with a wooden base, the vase: 130cm., 51 1/8 in. high

The collection of Nancy Astor, by family tradition
Purchased at auction in the 1940's for £200
Thence by decent to the present owner

This vase is in good condition. There is typical minor wear to the gilding on the knop of the cover and the top edge of the rim of the vase. To each of the gilded scrollwork panels on the sides there is a bird with two flakes to the raised gilding, to the small basket of fruit above these birds there is also a flake to the gilding.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The front scene of the vase is taken from the contemporary painting The Birth of Venus of 1877 by the Swiss born painter Fritz Zuber-Buhler (1822 - 1896) now in the collection of the Porczyński Gallery, Warsaw. Zuber-Buhler entered the painting for the 1877 Paris Salon and was successfully chosen and exhibited as no. 2192 under the title La naissance de Vénut which earned the him an award. The pose of Zuber-Buhler’s Venus can be compared to his earlier painting La Reine Bacchanal of 1864, also exhibited at the Paris Salon in the same year, no. 1993; this painting was recently sold at Christie’s New York, 18 October 2000, lot 97.

The reverse scene is after the painting The Sirens by the German painter and Art professor Friedrich Paul Thumann (1834-1908). In 1866 he became a professor at the Weimar Academy, and would later gain a position at the Academy at Dresden, and in 1875 at the Berlin Academy.

Hans Johann Stadler was born in 1848 in Bamberg, Germany and died in 1916 in Vienna. He studied at the Academy of Munich (under Georg Hiltensberger) and was also a pupil of Georg Raab at the Vienna Academy. As well as a painter of porcelain he also worked on ivory and in portrait miniatures. From 1883 he was a member of the Wiener Künstlerhaus