Medici Vase
Monumental 1st-century AD marble krater in the Uffizi Gallery.
The Medici Vase is a large marble krater, shaped like a bell and made in Athens during the latter half of the 1st century AD. It was originally created as a garden decoration for the Roman market and now resides in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The vase stands 1.52 meters tall and has a gadrooned, everted lip. Its deep frieze features a mythological bas-relief whose subject remains uncertain: a half-draped female figure, likely Iphigenia, sits beneath a statue of a goddess on a high plinth (restored as Diana), flanked by heroic warriors who may be Agamemnon and either Achilles or Odysseus. Two fluted loop handles rise from satyrs' heads on either side of an acanthus-leaf carved base, and the vase rests on a spreading gadrooned base atop a low square plinth.
The vase first appears in a 1598 inventory of the Villa Medici in Rome, though its earlier origin is unknown. It was moved from the villa in 1780 and has since been displayed in the Uffizi, currently on the first floor in the Verone sull’Arno overlooking the River Arno. It was frequently illustrated in engravings, most notably by Stefano della Bella in 1656, which shows the young Medici heir who would become Grand Duke Cosimo III seated and drawing the vase. Since the late 17th century, it has often been paired as a garden ornament with the similar Borghese Vase, and together they are among the most admired and influential ancient vases. The vase’s place in the Western canon of Greek and Roman antiquities is evident from its prominent role in the composed views, or capricci, of the Roman painter Giovanni Paolo Panini. Angelica Kauffman also painted the second Lord Berwick on his Grand Tour seated beside the vase. Many copies, sometimes quite loose, were made for palaces and gardens, and the Medici Vase remains a popular subject for imitation in bronze or porcelain, such as by Wedgwood. Additional information on later decorative versions of the pairing can be found under the Borghese Vase entry.
- Type
- Marble krater (vase)
- Height
- 1.52 metres (approx. 5 feet)
- Origin
- Athens, second half of the 1st century AD
- Current location
- Uffizi Gallery, Florence
- Material
- Marble
- Known for
- Influential antique garden ornament, often paired with the Borghese Vase
Lore & Background
The Medici Vase reappeared in the 1598 inventory of the Villa Medici in Rome, though its earlier origin is unknown. It was transferred from the villa in 1780 and has since been displayed in the Uffizi Gallery, today in the first-floor Verone sull’Arno overlooking the River Arno. The vase was often illustrated in engravings, the most famous of which is by Stefano della Bella (1656), depicting the young Medici heir who would become Grand Duke Cosimo III seated and drawing the vase.
Since the later 17th century, the Medici Vase has often been paired as a garden ornament with the similar Borghese Vase. The two are among the most admired and influential vases from antiquity. The vase's place in the Western canon of Greek and Roman remains is evident from its prominent position in the composed views or capricci of the Roman painter Giovanni Paolo Panini, and Angelica Kauffman painted the second Lord Berwick on his Grand Tour seated beside it.
Many copies, sometimes rather loose, were made to decorate palaces or gardens. The Medici Vase remains a popular subject for imitation in bronze or porcelain, for example by Wedgwood.
Reader's Guide
The Medici Vase holds significance as a key example of Roman-period Athenian marble sculpture created for the Roman market, and as a highly influential antique object in European decorative arts and garden design. Its reappearance in the late 16th century and subsequent display in the Uffizi Gallery made it a canonical work, frequently reproduced in engravings and paintings by artists such as Stefano della Bella, Giovanni Paolo Panini, and Angelica Kauffman. The vase's pairing with the Borghese Vase from the later 17th century onward established a standard for garden ornaments, and its form was widely imitated in bronze, porcelain, and other media, including by Wedgwood. The bas-relief frieze, depicting a mythological scene that defies secure identification, adds to its scholarly interest. The vase's legacy is measured by its enduring presence in the Western artistic canon and its role as a model for later decorative arts.
Did You Know?
- The Medici Vase was sculpted in Athens in the second half of the 1st century AD as a garden ornament for the Roman market.
- It stands 1.52 metres tall and has a gadrooned everted lip and a deep frieze with a mythological bas-relief that defies secure identification.
- The vase reappeared in the 1598 inventory of the Villa Medici in Rome, but its origin before that is unknown.
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