Pair of urns. Italy, 19th century

Pair of urns. Italy, 19th century.
Carrara marble.
Measurements: 66 x 42 x 42 cm.

Remarkable pair of monumental urns, masterfully executed in Carrara marble. Its design is fully inscribed in the neoclassical current, a style that drank directly from the canons of Greco-Roman Antiquity, rediscovered and revalued through archaeological finds and the phenomenon of the Grand Tour.

The structure of each urn is broken down into several harmoniously integrated elements, following a classical syntax. The piece starts from a quadrangular plinth that provides physical stability and aesthetic dignity. The foot, delimited by moldings, is joined to the main body with a collar or astragal.

The vessel takes the form of a goblet-shaped crater, inspired by the great Greek vessels used for mixing wine and water. Its concave profile expands with a graceful and continuous curvature towards the upper part, culminating in a pronounced, curved and molded lip.

The urns are topped with lowered truncated cone-shaped lids. Their geometry, a flattened cone topped by a discreet pinnacle or knob, complements the overall silhouette without competing with the magnificence of the vessel, providing a neat visual closure.

Made in Ottocento Italy, these urns reflect a cultured and refined society that decorated its palaces, villas and gardens with objects that evoked the grandeur of the classical past. They were symbols of status, culture and good taste.

The choice of Carrara marble is not accidental and is one of the main factors in the value of the piece. This material, extracted from the Apuan Alps since the time of the Roman Empire, is synonymous with purity and nobility in the history of sculpture. Its exceptionally fine grain and snowy tone, often with a very subtle grayish veining, give it a subtle translucency that seems to catch the light.