2-888-713 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Emperor's Vase, 1850. Horseracing trophy '...presented by his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia...The artist is Mr. Cotterill...The manufacturers of this vase are the Messrs. Garrards...On its base are seen the figure of Hercules, who, having destroyed the tyrant Diomedes, is about to strike with his club one of the horses...The figure of the god is admirably delineated; it is a perfect model of strength, activity, bodily and mental energy...The "Vase" itself rises from the base...and is appropriately decorated with figurative emblems of the Labours of Hercules. In the front is one of the birds of Stymphalus, an Arcadian lake...The handle of the Vase is formed of the folds of the Hydra. The ornaments are all in allusion to the labours of the principal figure. There are the heads of the boar, the stag, the bull, and the dog Cerberus, properly introduced and aiding in the general design'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.