In its form and decoration, this centerpiece superbly illustrates the tenets of Regency design. The design of the centerpiece is securely attributed to the architect and designer Charles Heathcote Tatham, who, with Thomas Hope, was a major exponent of the more severe neoclassical style of the Regency period. Regency designers, architects and craftsmen found inspiration in the whole of Antiquity, from Egypt to the Roman Empire, in the quest for a more archaeological and masculine style than the purely decorative classical taste of the late 18th century.

Spectacular centerpieces such as this example served as magnificent focal points of table decoration.

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