Marble Bottle with Ox Skull and Garland
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1768-1778 years
Copper etching
The prints of ancient vessels from Giovanni Battista Piranesi are still printed, and the rich details will permanently preserve the classic antique bottles treasured by the British aristocracy in the past, reflecting the refined taste of the elite European literati in the 18th century.
The bucranium ox skull decoration on the rugin dates back to Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, when it was customary for Near Eastern civilizations to hang the skulls of cows or other animals around altars or temples after rituals, and in ancient Rome the element was often found in monumental inscriptions of great significance. After a millennia of silence in the Middle Ages, this decorative motif was revived in Renaissance painting and sculpture, and later in Neoclassical art.