Description
A fine Portland stone stand probably designed as the base for a sundial or a large vase. The baroque design of dancing putti with garlands of flowers can be be traced from ancient Rome, through the renaissance and into the Northern art of Antwerp then to England via the Netherlandish craftsmen encouraged by the arrival here of William of Orange.
The lead and stonework in the gardens at Hampton Court are sprinkled with such putti often in complex arrangements. Most famously in John Van Nost’s lead flower baskets on the Hampton Court Road gate, completed in 1701 and one of the Baroque masterpieces of exterior sculpture in Britain.
Originally, this base would have stood on a wide, octagonal step and would have a flat top section in stone, now missing to support the dial.
