The Stowe Vase

From Ancient Art to Additive Manufacturing

This exhibition presents three extraordinary objects side-by-side: the ancient Roman Stowe vase, reconstituted during the eighteenth century from fragments (and represented in an etching by 18th-century Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi);  a second version in silver by leading silversmith of the English Regency era Paul Storr (1770-1844), and a 2016 computer-designed, 3D-printed artwork by Michael Eden. Each varies by medium as well as moment in history, allowing the viewer to compare interpretations of a highly distinctive design across two millennia. The exhibition also demonstrates the creativity that important collections and printed publications of vases have inspired, using ancient Greek and Neoclassical examples, as well as contemporary studio pottery.

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