Prometheus Vase

Minton & Co. debuted this model as part of their extensive display at the Exposition Universelle, or international exhibition, held in Paris in 1867. Designed by French sculptor Victor Étienne Simyan, it presents one of the most dramatic of Greek myths, that of the Titan god Prometheus being punished for bringing fire to mortals in defiance of the wishes of the Olympian gods. To punish this transgression Zeus had Prometheus chained to a rock and sent an eagle to eat his liver each day, which because of the Titan’s immortality would grow back each night, ensuring that the torture could be repeated. Minton continued to feature this impressive vase at subsequent international exhibition displays for the next decade including the London world’s fair of 1871, the Vienna exhibition of 1873, and the subsequent Paris expo of 1878. In most cases the examples shown were decorated with the turquoise glaze also present on this example. A report published for the Society of Arts after the 1878 fair noted the repeated appearance of the model in Minton’s displays and also its alluring color: “The pair of Prometheus vases, although not new, must be mentioned for the beauty of the turquoise ground, undoubtedly the finest colour in the Exhibition.”

The Minton vase model was particularly noted when it was shown in the United States in the 1870s. An 1875 article in "Appletons’ Journal" documented its appearance at Tiffany & Co., the New York luxury retailer, highlighting it as “one of the most beautiful majolica vases of modern English manufacture. . . . It is light blue, and about three feet high, and is called ‘The Prometheus Vase.’“ The vase also featured prominently in the display of the London retailer A. B. Daniell & Son at Philadelphia’s Centennial Exhibition of 1876. For this world’s fair Daniell exhibited an extensive amount of Minton’s wares, especially majolica. The Prometheus Vase shown there captured the attention of many critics. The author and educator Walter Smith (1836–1886) provided a detailed description of the vase in his book "The Masterpieces of the Centennial International Exhibition Illustrated." Smith praised the turquoise-glazed version exhibited noting “the manner in which the attention is concentrated on” the figures of Prometheus and the captives at the top “by making the other parts of the vase severely plain and unadorned.”

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Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Private collection until 2015; sale, Strawser Auction Group, Hatfield, Pennsylvania, 31 October 2015, lot 297; purchased by Deborah and Philip English, Baltimore, 2015; given to the Walters Art Museum, 2024.