Pair of Italian neoclassical (19th century) bronze and gilt trimmed urns surrounded by Greek masks and having intertwined handles resting on a square black marble base over claw feet..

Very impressive in scale and design..

Complete with their original brass liners and in relatively untouched condition bar a couple of negligible and minute chips to the bases (please see last 2 images)

Based on a design dating back to Roman times (around 200 CE). Fragments of the original were found in 1770 at the Pantanello, Hadrian’s villa, Tivoli, Italy, and the urn was painstakingly reconstructed.

In the 1800s the classical form of the Warwick urn was reproduced in countless versions, which were used as champagne coolers, tureens and vases. The Palace’s urns were made in 1812-13 and bear a coat of arms with the motto: Honi soit qui mal y pense (“Shamed be he who thinks evil of it”). This is the motto of the Order of the Garter, the most prestigious British order of chivalry, and it also appears on the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.

The urns were purchased for Queen Maud’s coronation and had previously been part of the estate of the late Duke of Cambridge, a cousin of King Edward VII. Although originally designed as champagne coolers, the urns are now used as vases for floral arrangements at royal banquets.

Free domestic delivery included in a price which is extremely competitive given the scale, design and condition of these wonderful examples.