Waterloo Vase
Encyclopedia
The Waterloo Vase is a great urn
, 15ft (5m) high and weighing 20 tons, fashioned from a single piece of Carrara
marble
. Since 1906, it has been used as a garden ornament
in the garden
of Buckingham Palace
, London
.
The Emperor Napoleon I
of France
passing through Tuscany
on his journey to the Russia
n front was shown a single massive block of marble, he asked for it to be preserved. It is thought that Napoleon may have ordered it to be roughly hewn into the present urn shape, leaving the panels undecorated in readiness to commemorate his expected victories.
Following the French defeat in the Napoleonic Wars
, the vase was presented unfinished to the Prince Regent
in 1815 by Ferdinand, Grand Duke of Tuscany via the British ambassador, Lord Burghersh
. The Prince Regent, soon to become George IV, had the vase completed by the sculptor Richard Westmacott
with the intention that it be the focal point of the new Waterloo chamber at Windsor Castle
, commemorating the Battle of Waterloo
, one of numerous triumphal commissions for Westmacott after Waterloo.
Inspired by Ancient Roman
models, such as the Borghese Vase
and the Medici Vase
, the Waterloo Vase was carved with bas-reliefs of George III
(long removed from public view) on his throne, Napoleon unhorsed, and various allegorical
figures. Two winged busts of angels leap incongruously from the sides of the vase, resembling more the figurehead
s of an ancient ship than the handles of an elegant marble vase.
No floor, however, could bear the weight of the vase, an estimated 20 tons, so it was presented to the National Gallery
in 1836. The Gallery finally returned the white elephant
to the sovereign
in 1906, and Edward VII
had the vase placed outside in the garden at Buckingham Palace where it now remains standing some distance from the palace in a wooded area to the northwest of the main building, on an austere brick paved plinth.
Urn
An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. "Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late 1760s...
, 15ft (5m) high and weighing 20 tons, fashioned from a single piece of Carrara
Carrara
Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....
marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. Since 1906, it has been used as a garden ornament
Garden ornament
A Garden ornament is an item used for garden, landscape, and park enhancement and decoration.The category can include:*bird baths,**bird feeders,**nest box-bird houses*columns - cast stone*fountains,**rocks and boulders with basins...
in the garden
Buckingham Palace Gardens
The garden at Buckingham Palace is situated at the rear of Buckingham Palace. It covers much of the area of the former Goring Great Garden, named after Lord Goring, occupant of one of the earliest grand houses on the site...
of Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The Emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
passing through Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
on his journey to the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n front was shown a single massive block of marble, he asked for it to be preserved. It is thought that Napoleon may have ordered it to be roughly hewn into the present urn shape, leaving the panels undecorated in readiness to commemorate his expected victories.
Following the French defeat in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the vase was presented unfinished to the Prince Regent
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
in 1815 by Ferdinand, Grand Duke of Tuscany via the British ambassador, Lord Burghersh
John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland
General John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Burghersh until 1841, was a British soldier, politician, diplomat and musician.-Background:...
. The Prince Regent, soon to become George IV, had the vase completed by the sculptor Richard Westmacott
Richard Westmacott
Sir Richard Westmacott, Jr., RA was a British sculptor.-Life and career:He studied under his father, Richard Westmacott the Elder, before going to Rome in 1793 to study under Antonio Canova...
with the intention that it be the focal point of the new Waterloo chamber at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, commemorating the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, one of numerous triumphal commissions for Westmacott after Waterloo.
Inspired by Ancient Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
models, such as the Borghese Vase
Borghese Vase
The Borghese Vase is a monumental bell-shaped krater sculpted in Athens from Pentelic marble in the second half of the 1st century BC as a garden ornament for the Roman market; it is now in the Louvre Museum.-Iconography:...
and the Medici Vase
Medici Vase
The Medici Vase is a monumental marble bell-shaped krater sculpted in Athens in the second half of the 1st century AD as a garden ornament for the Roman market.-Description:...
, the Waterloo Vase was carved with bas-reliefs of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
(long removed from public view) on his throne, Napoleon unhorsed, and various allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
figures. Two winged busts of angels leap incongruously from the sides of the vase, resembling more the figurehead
Figurehead
A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and 19th century.-History:Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and...
s of an ancient ship than the handles of an elegant marble vase.
No floor, however, could bear the weight of the vase, an estimated 20 tons, so it was presented to the National Gallery
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
in 1836. The Gallery finally returned the white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...
to the sovereign
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
in 1906, and Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
had the vase placed outside in the garden at Buckingham Palace where it now remains standing some distance from the palace in a wooded area to the northwest of the main building, on an austere brick paved plinth.
Note
Various sources give varying descriptions of the vase's weight. Twenty tons is the figure given by the reference book used for this article and in the link below.External links
- The "marble story" of the Waterloo Vase (in a biography of Richard Westmacott)
- Photograph of Elizabeth Bowes-LyonElizabeth Bowes-LyonElizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, posing next to the Vase in 1938