Earlier in the week, I was researching decorative outdoor urns for the month of November. This would be something in the conifer blue tones such as Juniper.
This picture popped up so I checked it out. It is carved from a single block of carrara marble. This particular photograph was taken by Sir Cecil Beaton. It is Queen Elizabeth posed in front of the Waterloo Urn at Buckingham Palace in 1938. The urn is still there today.
This garden urn is 15 feet tall and weights 40 tons. Napoleon lay claim to the block of stone when he was travelling through Tuscany on his way to make war in Russia in 1812. It is expected he intended to have victorious scenes carved on it to commemorate his victories. However, he was defeated, and the 'vase' was presented unfinished to the Prince Regent in 1815, who became George IV, and had the sculptor Richard Westmacott commemorate the Battle of Waterloo and other various scenes.
The urn proved too heavy for the Waterloo Chamber in Windsor Castle for which it was intended, and was presented to the National Gallery. In 1906 it was restored to the monarchy and placed in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, where it no longer dwarfs its surroundings.
Extraordinarily large vases or kraters (a mixing vessel) originated in Athens and Rome. Famous is the Borghese Vase, a monumental bell-shaped krater sculpted in Athens from Pentelic marble in the 1st century BC. It is now in the Louvre. Another monumental marble bell-shaped krater was the Medici Vase - sculpted in Athens in the 1st century AD. It is now in Florence. These have always been outdoor "garden" elements - even from their beginnings.
My own version of the big urn comes from the Niagara Falls Botanical Garden. This picture comes from a winter visit to the Butterfly Conservatory.
As for frosty leaves, I would be very pleased if we got some frost like this. This is a few years ago - and coincided perfectly with the fallen Japanese Maple leaves.
