Minton's Majolica Prometheus Vase

 

Of all the pieces of majolica Minton created for its regular production line, one piece stands above the rest: the Minton majolica Prometheus Vase, sometimes called The Captive Vase. The sheer presence of the four foot piece is stunning in its magnificence. In my 30 year career of buying majolica I have seen five of these for sale. Three of these vases had glazed grounds of clear Minton turquoise with the captives, eagle and Prometheus figure in full color. Two examples had the detailed hand painting created for exhibition pieces. Even the one example I saw which lacked its lid—and therefore its Prometheus figure—was quite imposing in its beauty.

Prometheus Bound by Peter Paul Rubens

The vase recounts the unsavory tale from Greek mythology of the punishment of the Titan Prometheus who stole fire from Mount Olympus and brought it to mankind. In revenge Zeus had Prometheus bound to a mountain rock and sent an eagle to eat the liver of the captive god. As Prometheus is immortal his liver regenerates every night only to be plucked out again the following day. The neck of the vase is decorated by four bound captives modeled after Italian 16th Century Venetian originals. The base has a wreath of laurel intertwined with snakes.

Designed by Victor Étienne Simyan for Minton, a matched pair of the vases were first shown at the Paris Exhibition of 1867. The painted decoration on the base of a boar hunt by Thomas Allen after a painting by Rubens, was an imitation of the maiolica of the 15th Century.

Minton majolica Prometheus vase, one of a pair 

 created for the 1867 Paris Exhibition illustrating 

The Calydonaian Boar Hunt by Rubens. 

Painted by Thomas Allen

The Calydonaian Boar Hunt by Rubens.

In 1876 A.B. Daniell & Son  exhibited an example with metallic decoration, simulated ivory figures and a Prussian Blue ground at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. An almost identical example was shown by T. Goode & Co. at the 1878 Paris Exposition.

Prometheus Vase in Prussian Blue with metallic decoration 

shown by A.B. Daniell & Son at the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. 

An almost identical vase was exhibited by 

T. Goode & Co. at the Paris 1878 Exhibition

Minton Prometheus Vase shown by T. Goode & Co. 

at the 1878 Paris Exhibition.

The former Ceramics Gallery at the V&A all done in majolica. 

A Prometheus Vase can be seen on a pedestal on the left. The gallery

was destroyed and remodeled when majolica fell from fashion.

A turquoise example in full color majolica glaze came up for auction recently in Pennsylvania (shown at the top of the page). It was purchased and donated to the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore where it is now on display.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has an example from the Minton Museum with sgraffito decoration by Silas Rice done in the ancient Greek manner, while the V&A has an example with an illustrated body in blue and white with a broken lid painted by Thomas Allen for the 1867 Paris Exposition.

Minton majolica Prometheus vase illustrating the 

rape of the Sabine Women painted by Thomas Allen 

for the 1867 Paris Exposition

Originally quite expensive, the vase was considered the Rolls Royce of Minton's line when it was new and remains so today. Consequently there are not that many available for sale. Should you be interested in buying one they have brought between $11,000 and $40,000 for turquoise examples and $100,000+ for the enamel painted ones. A turquoise example without the lid sold in Atlanta a few years ago for $5,000. 

For a brief audio introduction to the Prometheus Vase from the Bard Graduate Center go here.