HistoriqueThis unique sculpture invites visitors to survey its lush surface, behind which lie several stories. The monumental piece, 22 feet in circumference, is titled The Story of the Vine (Poem de la Vigne). The 6,000 pound cast bronze vessel has 58 separately formed animated figures, entwined with grapevines, visually narrating the story of winemaking. A close look at the base reveals cupids battling growth-destroying insects, as cupids above squeeze the abundant fruit of its juice. Larger playful figures feature Bacchus (the god of wine), Silenus (the drunken attendant and nurse to Bacchus), the goddess Diana (lover of the woods and wild things), satyrs (attendants to Bacchus), and bacchantes (priestess to Bacchus). Frenchman Paul Gustav Dore created the 11-foot-high vessel in 1877-78.
When the French Thiebaut Brothers Foundry finished casting the piece, Dore¹s finances were in the red, and with his death five years later, the bill was still unpaid. In an attempt to retrieve its money, the Foundry sent the extravagant piece to the World¹s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, where it was exhibited for a viewing fee. There, San Franciscan Michael de Young, a director and a national commissioner at large to the fair, saw it.
After the Chicago venue closed, the vase was shipped to California, an apt move with California wine already touted as the best in the United States. The vase was displayed at the Midwinter Fair of 1894 that was held in Golden Gate Park. When the Midwinter Fair closed, de Young desired to keep the piece for the Memorial Museum he was about to launch.'
¹Quoted from SAN FRANCISCO¹S GOLDEN GATE PARK by Christopher Pollock Book Compilation 2001, West Winds Press
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