A massive terra-cotta oil jar of bulbous form with pointed bottom and molded flared rim, with heavily lichened surface, Italian, mid-19th century.

Provenance: Collection of Linda Allard, Washington, CT. Previously installed at Vinland Estate, Ochre Point, Newport, RI, and Belcourt Castle, Newport, RI.

This impressive oil jar was presented to tobacco heiress Catharine Lorillard Wolfe (1828-1887) on June 22, 1884. It was installed at Vinland Estate, the home built for her in 1882 by Peabody & Stearns. According to legend, the oil jar was initially discovered during a 30-foot-deep excavation at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. The supposition is that the excavation may have occurred in or around 1823, when the church–which had retained much the same character since the 4th century–was all but destroyed by a devastating fire (later rebuilt almost entirely). The fact that the oil jar made its way to Newport in the 1880s is not surprising considering the sheer volume of art and antiques imports arriving from Europe during that period. The fashion for collecting ancient (and ancient-seeming) relics for the purposes of decorating gardens truly cannot be overemphasized. Years later, the oil jar was purchased by the Tinney family, who installed it at Belcourt Castle in Newport sometime after they purchased Belcourt in 1956.

60 ins. high, 60 ins. diameter