Pair Thomas Hope Regency Empire Patinated Bronze Tazze, Circa 1805-1815

Thomas Hope - Charles Heathcote Tatham: Rare & Important Pair English Regency Patinated Bronze Tazze, circa 1805-1815   English bronze masterpieces, with a compelling attribution to Thomas Hope, Charles Heathcote Tatham. Exquisitely cast, fabulous patina & museum quality. Untouched original condition.   A rare pair of English Regency / Empire period patinated bronze tazze, circa 1808–1815, each with a shallow circular dish raised on three finely modelled lion monopodia, their shoulders enriched with anthemion ornament, united by a concave-sided triangular plinth and square-section uprights. Executed in the archaeological taste associated with Thomas Hope, the design closely relates to Paul Storr’s celebrated silver-gilt tazze made for Thomas Hope in 1808–09.  

Their lion monopodia and tripod composition closely echo the antique prototypes recorded by Charles Heathcote Tatham, whose drawings furnished much of the visual language for Hope’s interiors at Duchess Street. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that these bronzes were commissioned by Hope himself as an alternative execution of the design, translating the same classical conception into the richer medium of patinated bronze. In the absence of surviving documentary evidence such a proposal must remain speculative, yet the close correspondence of design and quality renders the association an intriguing and persuasive one. Please see the images supporting the firm attributional link to Thomas Hope’s tazze by Paul Storr, Charles Heathcote Tatham’s drawings & the present pair.