Rubens Vase

The "Rubens Vase" - Walters Art Museum

A (1640-1652) print after Rubens' Drawing

The "Rubens vase" is an early Byzantine vase carved out of a single piece of agate, named after its owner (Peter Paul Rubens) as of 1619-1626, who in Flanders made a pen drawing of it, which is now held in the Hermitage Museum. It is believed to have been commissioned by a Byzantine emperor. That it appeared in Europe (France specifically) after the raiding of Istanbul during the 4th crusade, indicates strongly a source of theft. After passing through the collections of the Dukes of Anjou, Charles V and Peter Paul Rubens, it was eventually purchased by Henry Walters.

Here is the provenance:

Foire Saint Germain Sale, Paris, 1619; Peter Paul Rubens, Antwerp, 1619, by purchase; Daniel Fourment, Antwerp, ca. 1626-1628, by purchase; Emperor Jahangir of India [date of acquisition unknown], by consignment; Dutch East India Company, prior to 1635, by confiscation; Holland, 1818; William Beckford, Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, 1818, by purchase; Sale, English & Fasana, Bath, November 20, 1845, no. 167; Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, London, 1845, by purchase; William A. A. Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton, 1852, by inheritance; William A. L. S. Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton, 1863, by inheritance; Sale, Christie's, London, June 17, 1882, no. 487; Samson Wertheimer, London, 1882, by purchase; Sale, Christie's, London, March 15, 1892; Alfred Morrison, London, 1892, by purchase; Sale, Christie's, London, June 12, 1899; Sir Francis Cook, Richmond, 1899, by purchase; Wyndham F. Cook, London, 1901, by inheritance; Humphrey W. Cook, London, 1905, by inheritance; Sale, London, Christie's, July 14, 1925, no. 90; Henry Walters, New York, 1925, by purchase; Sadie Jones (Mrs. Henry Walters), New York, 1931, by inheritance; Sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, May 2, 1941, no. 1316; Walters Art Museum, 1941, by purchase.

— The Website of The Walters Art Museum