Portland Vase
Preserved but no longer current.
A cinerary urn of transparent dark blue glass, coated with opaque white glass cut in cameo fashton, found in a tomb (supposed to be that of Alexander Seyerus) near Rome m the 17th century. In 1770 it was purchased from the Barberini Palace by Sir William Hamilton for 1,000 guineas* and came afterwards into the possession of the Duke of Portland, one of the trustees of the British Museum, who placed it in that institution for exhibition.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Portland Vase” mean?
A cinerary urn of transparent dark blue glass, coated with opaque white glass cut in cameo fashton, found in a tomb (supposed to be that of Alexander Seyerus) near Rome m the 17th century. In 1770 it was purchased from the Barberini Palace by Sir William Hamilton for 1,000 guineas* and came afterwards into the possession of the Duke of Portland, one of the trustees of the British Museum, who placed it in that institution for exhibition.
Is “Portland Vase” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.