Date of Discovery:
15th century.
Name:
Basano Vase
Physical Description:
Silver vase
Origin:
Unknown (probably Napoli, Italy)
Mythology and Lore:
The first account comes from a small town north of Napoli, Italy in the 15th century. According to the legend, a young bride was given the vase before her wedding. Sadly, she never made it down the aisle as she died the night before her wedding. Whether her death came as a result of murder or natural causes are not known.
The vase was supposedly given to a family member. That family member died shortly after receiving the vase. The vase was passed to another family member and that person also died shortly after receiving it. The vase was then passed to a few more family members and they also died after getting the vase. The family realized that the vase and subsequent deaths were linked. With this realization, they decided to hide it away so no one else would come in contact with it. It stayed hidden away until 1988.
With its resurface, came the cloud of death that consumed its owners. According to the legend, the vase was dug up by a young man from an unknown place. The vase allegedly came with a note that read “Beware, this vase brings death.” The note was disregarded, and the vase was put up for auction anyway. The vase was sold to a pharmacist. He died three months later. His family then sold it to a surgeon. The surgeon didn’t believe in curses or the paranormal. His skepticism did not protect him from the curse. He died at the age of 37, two months after buying the vase.
Then the vase was sold to an archeologist who wanted to add the vase to his collection. A few months later the archeologist died from an unknown infection. By this time the vase had gotten a deadly reputation, but the family was still able to sell it. The curse was felt by the new owners and they too tried to sell it but by then the reputation of the vase was well known. No one would take the vase, so the family threw it out of their window. It struck someone. While they were fined for littering, the family refused to take the vase back. The officer who fined the family wanted to put it in a museum, but no museum would take it. Eventually, the vase was hidden away again.
The Basano vase is believed to be one of the most cursed objects in the world. While this may be true, the validity of these claims can not be tested as the whereabouts of the object are currently unknown. Allegedly the vase was disposed of in a lead tomb. The tomb is buried in a secret location. It is believed that the tomb is buried on consecrated land but that is not known for sure. Whether the vase is real or not is not known. Guess we’ll have to wait until another young person digs it up again.
Modern Pop-Culture References
None known
Is there anything we missed about the Basano Vase? Let us know in the comments section below!
Tritone’s love of horror and mystery began at a young age. Growing up in the 80’s he got to see some of the greatest horror movies play out in the best of venues, the drive-in theater. That’s when his obsession with the genre really began—but it wasn’t just the movies, it was the games, the books, the comics, and the lore behind it all that really ignited his obsession. Tritone is a published author and continues to write and write about horror whenever possible.