History of the Barberini Vase, or Portland Vase, in England

May 4, 2010
Katharine Garstka

The Portland, or Barberini, Vase - Marie-Lan Nguyen

When this masterpiece of Roman glass art came to Great Britain, it soon became a fixture of the British Museum, where millions of people have admired it.

The Portland Vase, as it came to be called from its long ownership by the first Dowager Duchess of Portland, and by seven successive Dukes of Portland, has been a major attraction of the British Museum since it was first installed there.

Sir William Hamilton Sold the Vase to the Dowager Duchess of Portland

When Sir William Hamilton returned to England from his tenure as British Ambassador to the Two Sicilies, he brought with him a huge collection of Roman antiquities and art. He sold some of his vases to the British Museum, where they helped to fuel the rising British passion for ancient art works.

After displaying the Barberini Vase to some of his illustrious associates, Hamilton sold it in 1784 to Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Portland, another collector of antiquities and natural history objects. The purchase was a private affair, and only family and favored friends of the Dowager Duchess were shown the vase. In 1786, after the Duchess’ death, it was put up for sale and was bought by her son, the second Duke of Portland.

The Portland Vase Was Passed Down by the Dukes of Portland

The vase was inherited by the third Duke of Portland, when he died in 1809, the fourth duke decided to make it available to the general public by loaning it in 1810 to the British Museum, which promptly put it on display. During the fourth duke’s ownership, in 1845, a mentally disturbed visitor to the museum picked up a fragment of a nearby sculpture and threw it at the Portland Vase. The protective glass cover shattered, and the vase itself was broken into more than 200 pieces.

The First Major Repair

The vandal was arrested and pleaded guilty. Since the vase was an important work of art, the museum decided to have it reconstructed, and it was handed over to John Doubleday, a museum craftsman. Doubleday first arranged the major pieces, and had a watercolor done of the fragments. It took months, but the reconstruction was finished that same year.

In time, the vase was duly inherited by the fifth Duke of Portland, who left it on display at the museum. Eventually, in 1879, the vase passed to the sixth duke, who finally put it up for sale in 1929, but the bids did not meet the duke’s reserve price. Three years later the duke loaned it back to the museum, where it was again displayed to the public.

The Portland Vase was Purchased by the British Museum in 1945

In 1943 the sixth duke died, and the seventh duke decided to sell the vase. By this time so many people had visited the museum to see it, that it was looked upon almost as a national treasure, and thus the museum set out to purchase it. Negotiations took some time, but at the end of WWII the sale was completed, and the vase had a permanent home.

Two years later, in 1947, museum curators were surprised when a man appeared, bringing a box of glass slivers that he was unable to identify. The curators, however, had no trouble – they were fragments left over from the 1845 reconstruction – fragments that Doubleday had not been able to place.

The Second Major Repair

Since the repair was now more than 100 years old and the adhesive had discolored and weakened, it was decided to take the vase apart and repair it again, using better adhesives and new techniques. In November of 1948 the museum turned it over to J. H. W. Axtell, who completed the job by spring of 1949.

The Third Major Repair

The vase stayed on display, and the museum continued to expand. In 1985, as a new Roman gallery was being readied, curators realized that the 1948/49 restoration had not fared well. It, too, had discolored, and some of the filling material had shrunk. Once again, it was scheduled for a major restoration. This time a BBC camera crew documented the whole process, which occurred in 1988/89.

The Future of the Vase

The vase remains one of the major draws at the British Museum. It will likely be repaired again at some future time, as generation after generation continues visit the museum to marvel at the delicate beauty of this masterpiece of art and craftsmanship.

Sources:

Robin Brooks, The Portland Vase, HarperCollins, 2004.
Nigel Williams, The Breaking and Remaking of the Portland Vase, Trustees of the British Museum, 1989.