Tall Tiered Vase At Centre Of Chinese Garden

The tall tiered vase located at the center of the Chinese garden is a garden ornament from the late 19th century, believed to be of Chinese or Japanese origin. It is made of bronze and stands on a hexagonal stone base. The lower part of the ornament features scrolled legs on a mask-head base that encloses a spiky dragon. Surrounding the base of a large vase, which is adorned with figurative relief decoration, are six seated elephants with raised trunks. Two additional spiky dragons climb up the sides of the vase, and at the top sits an eagle with widespread wings. This ornament is part of a collection gathered for the garden by the first Lord Crawshaw around 1890 to 1900.