Vases From The Collection Of Sir. Henry Englefield, Bart. Drawn And Engraved By H. Moses.

RA Collection: Book

Record number

07/3181

Imprint

London,: Printed For Rodwell And Martin, New Bond Street., (1819 - 1820)

Physical Description

60, [4] p., frontis., t.pl., 39 pl.; 283 mm. (Quarto.)

Contents

[Frontis., t.pl.] - [Plates] - [Text].

Responsibility Note

The title plate is unsigned. The frontispiece and all numbered plates are signed as engraved by Henry Moses, and carry the imprint of the publishers, Rodwell and Martin, and the date of publication.

References

Studies of the influence of ancient Greek vases on modern European taste include J. Scott, The pleasures of antiquity: British collectors of Greece and Rome (2003); M. Vickers, 'Value and simplicity: eighteenth-century taste and the study of Greek vases', in Past & Present, 116 (1987 August), p.98-137; D. von Bothmer, 'Notes on Collectors of Vases', in J.F. Tompkins, Wealth of the ancient world [exhibition catalog] (1983), p.37-44; A. Greifenhagen, 'Nachklänge griechische Vasenfunde im Klassizismus (1790-1840)', in Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen, new ser. 5:1 (1963), p.84-105.

Summary Note

No publication-date is given on the title plate; but the frontispiece and all numbered plates carry publication dates of 1819 (Apr 1, Jun 1, Sep 1, Nov 1) or 1820 (Jan 1, Mar 1).

The texts, printed in English and in French, describe the vases and their subject-matter, and state their dimensions and the names of former owners. The beauty of Englefield's vases is matched by the excellence of Henry Moses's engravings. (Englefield was appointed Antiquary to the Royal Academy in 1820. He was not only an historian and amateur artist but also a scientist, and the Society of Arts awarded him a gold medal for his invention of a durable form of red madder pigment. His collection of ancient vases was sold after his death.)

The frontispiece shows a portrait of Sir Henry Englefield. The engraved title-plate includes a view of some ancient vases within a border of ancient Greek motifs. The numbered plates show ancient Greek vases, depicting myths or social customs. The last plate (no. 39) shows a coloured funerary lecythos and has been coloured by hand.

Binding Note

20th-century red cloth-covered boards; red morocco spine-label lettered 'Englefield Vases', spine lettered 'R.A.' and '1819.'

Name as Subject

Subject

Mythology, Greek - Iconography
Greeks - Greece - Social life and customs - History
Vase-painting, Greek - Vases, Greek - Greece - Italy - History
Collections - Great Britain - History - 19th century
Catalogues - Art history - Great Britain - 19th century
Pictorial works - Hand coloring - Great Britain - 19th century

Contributors

John Rodwell, publisher
Henry Moses, engraver
Rodwell and Martin (London), publisher