''The Girl or the Vase'' (), also known as ''The Presentation of the Slave'', is an 1878 painting by the Polish artist
Henryk Siemiradzki. The subject is from ancient Rome and shows a
patrician who contemplates on whether he should buy an East Asian vase or a slave girl. The painting earned Siemiradzki the gold medal at the
1878 World's Fair
The third Paris World's fair, World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of French Third Republic, France after the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War.
Constructi ...
in Paris and the French
Legion of Honour.
The painting last changed owner in 2005, when it was sold through
Sotheby's in New York for 1,426,000 dollars.
The painting is referenced in Boris Pasternak's novel,
''Doctor Zhivago'', described as depicting "
e fat Roman making up his mind between the woman and the vase."
References
External links
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1878 paintings
Paintings set in ancient Rome
Paintings by Henryk Siemiradzki
Slavery in art
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