JOHN FLAXMAN (1755-1826)
The Age of Silver and the Age of Gold
hallmark 1826/7RCIN 51647
The plaques on this vase, designed by Flaxman, are based on descriptions in a poem by the Greek poet Hesiod, listing five ages of man, starting with gold and ending with iron. The Golden Age was considered to be a time of purity, peace and harmony. Each subsequent age brought a decline in the state of man. Gold therefore represented the ideal.