A Pair of Neo-Attic Marble Griffin Urns, late Republican/Augustan Period, 1st Century B.C./early 1st Century A.D.

each with pyriform body ornamented with a tongue-and-dart pattern radiating from the base, encircling band of scrolling vegetation, and tongue-and-dart pattern on the broad shoulder, the splayed lid carved in one piece with the body, decorated with spreading and overlapping pointed leaves, and terminating in a pine-cone finial with cross-hatched incisions, three griffin protomes with feathered lower necks emerging from the shoulder; one urn with foot and two griffin heads restored, the other with foot, finial and three griffins heads restored.

possibly in Rome in the first half of the 16th Century (based on evidence from Renaissance drawings and engravings)
European private collection, 18th/early 19th Century (based on restoration techniques)
French private collection, near Saint-Tropez, probably early 20th Century
acquired by the present owner on the art market in southern France

As shown and described. Foot restored on both urns. One urn with two restored griffin heads, both copied from the third one, which is ancient and still has traces of incrustation in the eyes and beak. Top of lid (finial) encrusted and original but with a different patina than the rest of the vessel. On the other urn all three heads are restorations based on the original one from the first urn. Also restored on this urn is the top of the lid (finial). On each urn all griffin heads have been covered over with water-based paint to tone down their white-marble appearance. Surface is still encrusted in many areas; wear and weathering in places, particularly around the decorative band encircling the body.
"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 present urns, which are solid and non-functional, ultimately imitate Greek votive bronze griffin cauldrons of the Orientalizing and Archaic periods. They represent the final stage of a long tradition which originated in Athens and its immediate environs in the late 4th Century B.C., when large marble versions were carved and used as tomb ornaments to recall the Homeric past and heroise the deceased. This tradition continued uninterrupted well into the early 1st Century A.D. in the Italian peninsula, both in the North and in Latium. For a discussion of marble griffin cauldrons in Greece and Italy, and for examples from Nemi related to the present urns, see P. Guldager Bilde, Analecta Romana Instituti Danici, vol. 24, 1997, pp. 65ff.

The marble, form, proportions, ornament style, and workmanship of each of the present urns are characteristic of Neo-Attic sculpture produced in Rome or its vicinity in the late Republican and Augustan periods. The meticulously executed restorations match those of Roman workshops in the 18th and early 19th Century. It is possible that these urns were known in Rome as early as the 16th Century when still in their fragmentary state; they may have provided the inspiration and prototype for a hitherto unidentified vase variously represented with different additions in numerous drawings and engravings of the period (see J. S. Byrne, Master Drawings, vol. 15, 1977, pp. 153ff., and G. Schweikhart, Der Codex Wolfegg, 1986, p. 61f.).