FINE NK 4335 .G8 1912 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FINE ARTS LIBRARY niK^h^A^ .^; /^ mitt wthQ ' 1760 ■ 1795 A COLLECTION ACQUIRED FROM THE CABINETS OF Sir Richard Tange, Lord Tweedmouth, Arthur Sanderson, Esquire, and Mr. Frederic Rathbone Sy FRANK W. GUNSAULUS No. 11 LOANED TO THE MUSEUM OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924102156118 A CATALOGUE OF A COLLECTION OF PLAQUES, MEDALLIONS, VASES, FIGURES, &c.,IN COLOURED JASPER AND BASALTE PRODUCED BY JOSIAH WEDGWOOD, F. R. S., AT ETRURIA, IN THE COUNTY OF STAFFORD, ENGLAND ::: 1760-1795 COMPILED BY FRANK W. GUNSAULUS 'Whether, O friend of art, your gems derive Fine forms from Greece, and fabled gods revive. Or bid from modern life the portrait breathe, And bind 'round Honour's brow the laurel vfreath. Buoyant shall sail, with fame's historic page Each fair medallion o'er the wrecks of age. Nor time shall mar, nor steel, nor fire, nor rust. Touch the hard polish of the immortal bust." — Darwin. PUBLISHED BY THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ^MERS/r)x A FOREWORD Concerning the Collection Formerly Known as The Sanderson Collection of Old Wedgwood And Now, With Additions and Subtractions, Known as The Frank W. Gunsaulus Collection Instructed by Mr. Sanderson, with the apt quotation: "Remember, the best is good enough for me," I commenced the formation of this collection in 1895. Securing the best pieces obtainable, as opportunity offered, chiefly from private owners at home and abroad, I proceeded upon this definite plan to illustrate Josiah Wedgwood's artistic work, from his earliest efforts to his perfected and best examples, which includes the period between 1765 and 1795. As responsible, and, with some authority as a Wedgwood expert, of over thirty years experience of the subject; I am able to say that every piece contained is genuine and as described in the catalogue. Had it been, simply a question of number, bulk or quantity, a few months' time would have been ample ; but after carefully considering the matter of qual- ity and importance — not forgetting that of rarity and pedigree; the work was not finished until five years had elapsed — 1900. When complete, the owner found that he had not sufficient room for its dis- play with his large collection of other art examples, and I offered it, on loan, to the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, where it remained on exhibition until 1906, when I removed it to London. Many of the pieces required were considered to have been the chief items or gems, at one time, in over thirty well-known collections, long since dispersed, as the following list shows: Denman (Flaxman's nephew) Erasmus Darwin Bale Braxton Hicks Barlow Bowker Bolckow Bartlett Cox Callender De Falke Prince Galitzin Holt T. S. Walker Hankey Whitehead Maclaren Ward Malrasiade Winans Tostoselli Wrigley Marryatt Stuart Pender Sibson Powell (Canon) Streatfield Potts Tulk Ruston Young, &c. Symes Several pieces were made for princes and celebrated collectors coming from France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Austria and Italy, Sweden and Norway. It must not be forgotten that Josiah Wedg^vood's best patrons were the enthusi- astic French collectors of that finest art period — the reign of Louis XVI. Excepting the fine plaque "Mercury Joining the Hands of England and France," and some other examples which Mr. Sanderson reserved for his private house, and were not shown in the museum, I sold the collection en-bloc in Lon- don, 1907. It is a great satisfaction to the writer to hear that the greater and most in- teresting part of the collection, including the very rare plaque "Mercury, Eng- land and France," and other choice pieces, added by Dr. F. W. Gunsaulus will be on public view at the great progressive city — Chicago. He is of opinion that it would now be impossible to form another to equal it in importance, from either the historic or artistic point of view. No man did more for the Ceramic industry of the world than Josiah Wedgwood, the great English potter — one who never travelled beyond the limits of Great Britain and yet produced his refined and beautiful works by the help of English artists like Flaxman and his compeers. His modellers and workmen were Englishmen — his materials came from English soil. The finished product of the one Ceramic art in which England ranks su- preme, are now deposited for the instruction, admiration and probably veneration of the present day descendants of those stalwart English emigrants who sought refuge upon American soil. June, 1907. The words printed above were first written at Streatham, County of Surrey, England, where my humble residence is built upon land, formerly part of the Thrale estate, well-known to Dr. Samuel Johnson on his visits to Mr. and Mrs. Thrale, June, 1907. Revised and added to in New York, 22nd November, 191 1. And with my congratulations to the Art Institute, of Chicago, and my friend. Rev. Dr. F. W. Gunsaulus, who owns and lends this unique collection. AN OFFERING TO PEACE-6 (19) Historical and Biographical Notes HIS collection of Old Wedgwood was formed, partially, and from many sources, for Arthur San- derson, Esq., in England, and was exhibited in the Royal Scottish Museum at Edinburgh, and, later, in the rooms of Mr. Frederick Rathbone, of London, the eminent authority on all matters relating to the greatest of English potters. It will now be lent to the Art Institute of the City of Chicago, after having been carefully compared with the other possessions of that Museum, notably the gifts of Mr. James Viles and the loan collection made in memory of Amelia Blanxius, by her daughters, Mrs. Jene E. Bell and Mrs. Emma B. Hodge. Certain additions will be made. It is fair to say that those, who have had the Art Institute of Chicago in mind through many years of collecting, have sought to avoid duplication, and, instead, have essayed to con- struct a collection of Old Wedgwood, in the form of his art objects, as well as in the form of his useful ware, which shall be at once scientific and comprehensive. The addition, on loan, of this assemblage of Old Wedgwood, to the gifts of Mr. Viles, and the very carefully selected and diversified ob- jects of Wedgwood's work in the collection loaned by Mrs. Jene E. Bell and Mrs. Emma — 7 B. Hodge, in memory of their mother, was made especially to enrich, and to complete, as nearly as possible, for the student and con- noisseur of l8th Century pottery in England, a series of the most characteristic achieve- ments of Josiah Wedgwood. Respectful and grateful mention must be made here of the fact that much is owed to the abundant knowledge and fine taste of Mr. Frederick Rathbone, whose eminence as an expert and whose persistent labors to obtain many of these pieces have made the collection more worthy of the great potter's name. It is suggested that students of ceramics who desire to acquaint themselves with Wedg- wood's range of genius and accomplishment, shall begin with the study of Thomas Whiel- don, into whose partnership Wedgwood went as a young man, and, proceeding in a chrono- logical manner, with the help of the early biography by Miss Meteyard and the later books of Prof. Alfred Church and Mr. Fred- erick Rathbone, shall, step by step, acquire an acquaintance with the growth of his powers and the development of his art. Perhaps the most important assemblage of Thomas Whiel- don's works in America is to be found in the Amelia Blanxius collection. It is even doubt- ful if Wedgwood did not have a large part in the making of much that is called the Whieldon Mottled Ware, especially in the form of dishes. Thanks are very cordially extended to Mr. A. H. Church, F. R. S., Prof, of Chemistry in the Royal Academy of Arts, London, for the use of many passages in his indispensable es- say, first printed in the Portfolio, and now revised and reprinted by Seeley & Co., Lon- don. Mr. Rathbone's catalogues of the San- derson-Lord Tweedmouth and other collec- tions have been freely drawn upon. Josiah Wedgwood Mr. Rathbone has presented a most succinct and interesting account in these words : "Josiah Wedgwood, F. R. S., potter and in- ventor, whose ancestors had been workers in this earliest-known handicraft, was born at Burslem, in Staffordshire, 1730. That district, in the valley of the Western Trent, now called 'the Potteries,' had been a favorite locality The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche —5a (15) for the exercise of the potter's industry from very remote times. Its unfailing supply of natural clays, vast forests, streams, and other advantages could not fail to attract the primi- tive potters, who there produced domestic and ornamental wares for distribution to all parts of the kingdom. The quaint inlaid tiles for the floors of the abbeys and monasteries were produced here and sent away by the rivers Trent, Severn, and Avon, then, as in earlier times, the chief arteries of transit. "The old methods of manufacture continued. The few changes in the shape and ornamenta- tion of the pottery were due to the influence of foreign emigrants, who would have a pref- erence for the form and decoration in use in their native country, as we may notice the many changes of shape in the domestic spoon of the last three centuries, due to the chang- ing fashion prompted by the Dutch. German, and Hanoverian courtiers. "At the time of Wedgwood's advent, the pot- tery industry was gradually undergoing a change. The general use of tea and coffee demanded suitable vessels, which had been hitherto indifferently supplied by importing expensive porcelain from China and Japan, — only within the reach of wealthy consumers. Staffordshire met this demand with the light, graceful pottery known as 'salt glaze'; plain or decorated from the then only available models — the Oriental patterns. "Wedgwood's earliest work as a potter was the improvement of the useful domestic ware then in fashion, the invention of new bodies and material, colours, and new methods of manufacture. His tortoise-shell, agate, mot- tled, and other coloured pieces were distinct creations, and soon found a ready sale. In due time he invented the pale cream-coloured 'Queen's Ware,' so named in compliment to his patron. Queen Charlotte. He supplemented the use of the primitive potter's wheel by afterwards turning his ware upon an improved lathe. He was the actual inventor of at least twenty new bodies for the manufacture of earthenware, many of which are in use to this day. "From youth to age the great potter never enjoyed robust health. When young, he suf- fered from a severe attack of smallpox, leav- ing complications that in later life so affected one leg, it necessitated amputation, a martyr- dom that was possibly a benefit to his country. "The estimate of Wedgwood's useful life may be given by his quaint epitaph in the church of Stoke-on-Trent : 'Who converted a rude and inconsiderable Manufactory into an elegant Art, and an important part of Na- tional Commerce' ('manufactory' meaning manufacture). The forty-two master-potters of Staffordshire, from 1710 to 1715, by their united efforts could only produce earthenware to the annual value of £6417, compared with 1785, when Wedgwood gave evidence in the House of Commons that upwards of fifteen thousand persons were then directly employed in the manufacture, and double that number in auxiliary occupations in connection with the industry — in preparing clay, flitit, coals, and other materials required by the potters." In addition to his valuable services to the staple trade of Staffordshire, he devoted much time and energy to the improvement of the roads and means of communication of the district. In 1760 the only method of transport was the pack-horse, the nearest highway road was at Lawton, in the next county. Through his exertions new roads were made, and oth- ers improved. The Grand Junction Canal. from the Mersey to the Trent, was projected, with Wedgwood as honorary treasurer to the company. Its effect, Mr. Gladstone remarked, "made the raw material of his industry abun- dant and cheap, which supplied a vent for the manufactured article, and which opened for it materially a way to what we may term the conquest of the outer world." Wedgwood Ware and Old Wedgwood So far, these remarks apply chiefly to the period of Wedgwood's useful earthenware: "Wedgwood Ware." The collector fully un- derstands the meaning of "Old Wedgwood." Indeed, we have Wedgwood's own authority for the classification, for in a letter to his partner, Thomas Bentley (1770), he says: "May not useful ware be comprehended un- der the simple definition of such vessels as are made use of at meals? This appears to one to be the most simple and natural line, and though it does not take in wash-hand basins and bottles, and a few such articles, they are of little consequence, and speak for themselves. . I am getting some boxes made neatly, and lined with silk or some fine stuff, to keep and show the tablets (plaques) in. We should use every means in our power to make our customers believe they are not The Ware." In the progress of his manufacture Wedg- wood illustrated the sentiment of the inscrip- tion in the entrance-hall of the Birmingham Art Gallery and Museum: "By the gains of Industry we promote Art." He acquired a considerable fortune by the production and sale of his domestic ware for the civilized world ; then, with the strength of his financial position, he turned his attention to the orna- mental or decorative pieces, attracting to his service the most renowned artists of his time, improving some of the materials then in daily use, and in due time inventing and perfectmg that most beautiful body ever adopted in ceramic art— the "Jasper." Until this body was completed and reliable— only after con- tinued experiment; surmounting failure by constant attention— the finest work was im- possible, and, except in the basalte and agate bodies, was not attempted. But a time came when he could write to his partner, "We are now absolute with the jasper.'' Jasper Pieces The jasper pieces are the collector's "Old Wedgwood," of which this exhibition includes many important examples, coming from cele- brated collections formed during the last cen- tury, and acquired when it was possible to secure them. The pages of a catalogue do not allow of much criticism — a personal ex- amination of the objects catalogued may be of greater profit. But much has been written upon this sub- ject during the last half-century by many cele- brated writers, giving unqualified testimony to the character and genius of the great potter. All are worth perusing : a few examples may be given. Lord Lytton, in his England and the English (1835), says: "There have, for some time past, been vari- ous compliants of a deficiency of artists capa- ble of designing for our manufactures of Four Boys as Silenus and Fawni Companions— 15 (36) porcelain, silk, and other articles of luxury in general use ; we are told that public schools are required to supply the want. It may be so, yet Wedgwood, Rundell, and Hellicot the watchmaker found no such difficulty, and now that a Royal Academy has existed for sixty- five years, the complaint has become universal. One would imagine that the main capacity of such institutions was to create that decent and general mediocrity of talent which appeals to trade and fashion for encouragement. In truth, the complaint is not just. How did Wedgwood manage without a public school for designers? In 1760, our porcelain wares could not stand competition with those of France. Necessity prompts, or what is quite as good, allows the exertions of genius. Wedgwood applied chemistry to the improve- ment of his pottery, sought the most beautiful and convenient specimens of antiquity, and caused them to be imitated with scrupulous nicety; he then (the italics are Lord Lytton's) had recourse to the greatest genius of the day for designs and advice. But now the manu- facturers of a far more costly material, with- out availing themselves of the example of Wedgwood, complain of want of talent in those whom they never sought, and whom they might as easily command, if they were as willing to reward." Gladstone's Eulogy The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, who in 1863 made his eloquent address upon the open- ing of the Wedgwood Institute at Burslem, at a period three years before Miss Mete- yard's Life of Wedgwood was published, il- lustrated with his usual facility Wedgwood's life, work, and character. He reiharks : "1 call him the great Wedgwood. That is the proper epithet for him. In my opinion, and I have considered the matter as well as I can, Wedgwood was the greatest man who ever, in any age, or in any country — I do not except, as far as our knowledge goes, any age or any country — applied himself to the important work of uniting art with industry. The industrial development brought about by Wedgwood was wonderful. He made this country a great exporting country for his own wares. You know the meaning of that. What he manufactured was so much better than what other countries could make for them- selves, that they were delighted to send here to buy it, and pay all the cost of carrying it to St. Petersburg on one side and the Mis- sissippi on the other, to the extremities of civilization, to avail themselves of the benefit brought about by the genius of that man. There is one particular point which I have always considered to be among the most sig- nificant and interesting in the work of Wedg- wood, and that is the unvarying ' attention which in his works he gave to the question of form. Now, pray remember, that we may always distinguish between the different con- stitrtents of work of art. There is the form, there is the colour, and there is the character of ornamentation; but the form is the true foundation of the whole, just as in archi- tecture. You see what a bad architect will do. He will think very little of form or propor- tion, and he will plaster his building all over with ornament, and ornament is constantly used to disguise the poverty and perversion of form. Wedgwood completely revolution- ized the character -of the fabrics made in England at the period. He recalled into ex- istence the spirit of Greek art. Before his time, we may say of the earthenware and porcelain manufacture that it had never risen to the loftiness of the spirit of Greek art. If you compare the famous porcelain of Sevres, the vases of Sevres with the vases of Wedgwood, I don't hesitate to say they are greatly inferior. If you pass your eye along this line of productions of the eighteenth cen- tury in England, although there are very good forms in others, those of Wedgwood stand pre-eminent. Though in all his productions you are reminded of Greek art, they are not mere reproductions. His style is strikingly original." In the same address, Mr. Gladstone pointed out a curious German criticism upon Wedg- wood, in which the great potter is likened to Goethe ! This was written by Novalis (Frag- mente : Aesthetik und Litteratur) : "Goethe ist ganz praktischer Dichter. Er ist in seinen Werken, was der Englander in seinen Waaren ist : hochst einfach, nett, bequem und dauer- haft. Er hat in der deutschen Litteratur das gethan, was Wedgwood in der englischen Kunstwelt gethan hat.'" The honored names of inventors and others who have developed the resources of his coun- try are found in the peerage, but the name of Wedgwood is not mentioned — the diligent man of business standeth before kings. Other na- tions have fully recognized Wedgwood's serv- ices to the ceramic industry. His first patron was the munificent Empress Catharine of Rus- sia, for whom he made the grand table service, decorated with views of English country seats. Continental orders were continually sent to Etruria, his best customers being the Court and aristocracy of France, during the re- nowned art periods, the reigns of Louis XV. and XVI. So much fine Wedgwood was then imported into France that the Royal factory of Sevres copied the color and relief of his jasper plaques and vases in competition. His Genius "He was not a mere employer of artists, not a mere translator into clay of designs made by other hands in other materials. Nor was he a mere copier of the antique. He possessed a marvellous power of co-ordination and adaptation, and appreciated the grace of congruity, although he occasionally allowed the association of incompatible decorative ele- ments. He was endowed with an inventive faculty, which revealed itself, not only in new materials and.new methods, but in the origina- tion of new fofms. Moreover, fiaving selected with consummate taste the artistic materials, original and derived, which he deemed to be best suited for his purpose, he so informed them with his spirit and temper, that, under wide diversities of substance, colour, and shape, there will be found a certain unity of conception. In a word, no other potter of modern times has so successfully welded into one harmonious whole the prose and the poetry of the ceramic art. Wedgwood's ap- preciation of beauty and his imagination and fancy, on the one hand, with his skill, perse- verance, and knowledge on the other, enabled him to attain an altogether unique position. True, he may not have left us any artistic works which we can call wholly his own, al- though we know that he was a practical thrower, an expert modeller, and an ingenious designer of new forms. But we owe an im- mense debt of gratitude to Wedgwood for the exquisite taste with which he reproduced and multiplied in beautiful materials the creations of great artists such as Flaxman, and for the industrial enterprise which enabled him to make and distribute throughout the Old and New Worlds countless objects in which utility and beauty were happily combined." — Professor Church. "That Wedgwood's memory is still kept green by other nations is evident from the pathetic incident that occurred in 1895, the centenary of Wedgwood's death; when the Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent received a wreath sent direct from a potter in Silesia, with a request that it should be laid upon the great potter's grave, as a remembrance from a liv- ing potter to the memory of one who was universally esteemed as the greatest master of his craft." Marks ( See Large Catalogue in Art Institute Library) The most valuable information as to his stamp and marks may be found in the monu- mental work of Mr. Rathbone who says : "We have no record of the exact time when Wedgwood first used the well-known stamp. His early work at Burslem, judging from fragments recently found on the site of the Ivy House, and many of the early pieces made at Etruria, bear no mark. The first mention of this sign of identification is the well-known incident of the Etruscan vases thrown by Wedgwood, while Bentley turned the wheel. These were inscribed : 'June xm., mdcclxix. One of the first Day's Productions at Etruria in Staffordshire by Wedgwood and Bentley.' The round stamp (No. s), 'Wedgwood and Bentley,' is probably the first form, being found upon vases that must have been made soon after the establishment of the Etruria works. This stamp was changed to a wafer, with the addition of the word Etruria (No. 6) ; afterwards the foot of the vase itself was stamped in a circle, to fit round the screw (No. 7). "Wedgwood is said to have objected to the name of any modeller or workman being added to his own. The fine portrait of Ed- ward Bourne, an old workman at Etruria ; a portrait of Josiah Wedgwood, and one of Marcus Aurelius— 22 (41) Voltaire, all modelled by Hackwood, have the initials W. H. in script letters under each portrait. These are the only instances of any designer's or craftsman's mark on the rehef surface. "Of the many works treating upon ceramics, nearly all give the Wedgwood marks incor- rectly. Every mark, whether upon pieces of a useful or ornamental character, used by the great potter and his descendants, was, and is, impressed in the soft clay with the ordinary printers' type of the period ; excepting the round marks, which were produced by en- graved brass stamps, the marks upon porce- lain, and the painters' marks upon decorated pieces. The impressed mark, when fired, is of the most durable and permanent character, especially when compared with the painted o O < u Pi marks on the glaze of many kinds of porce- lain — so liable to erasure by any ordinary usage. Impressed marks have also another valuable quality — security against fraud — it being nearly impossible to imitate them, ex- cept by engraving; no easy task with hard- fired pottery. "The marks of the old period are usually clearly and evenly stamped, and, except upon glazed pottery and 'Queen's Ware,' easily de- ciphered. With the name are often found either single letters, numbers, or signs, scratched with a point or impressed. Many of these are simply workmen's marks, and are of little use to the collector. Some are only single letters, as T. G., signs of various forms, pattern numbers such as 27s, 496, II, usually scratched, or marks indicating size or capacity of tea and other vessels, as 18, 24, 36, 4-I-4. A rude K, made with a point, found upon some of the fine busts, is attributed to Keeling the modeller, and a type-impressed H to Hack- wood. "Miss Meteyard has pointed out that the o letters and 3 are only found upon good 3 specimens, and are evidently the marks of careful and expert workmen. These marks are, however, only found upon the fine jasper dejeuner tea and coffee pieces, and similar specimens, rarely upon plaques, medallions, or vases. Collectors are also indebted to her for pointing out the mark of three letters, as ANO — REP occurring with the name, etc., as a distinct evidence of modern work, and any piece so marked is certainly not older than 1859. The mark of three capital letters was first used in i860: the first letter stood for the workman's mark, the second for the month, the third for the year of manufacture, upon the plan of the hall-mark on plate; O meaning i860, P 1861, and so on. "Some of the medallions are inscribed with a point with various words, such as 'L Tub,' 'E wash,' etc. etc. These were evidently ex- perimental pieces marked with the various washes, instructions for windage in the kiln, and other matters necessary to be noted for accurate reproduction, and to be retained in the manufactory for future reference. Until lately, a few old vases of the Wedgwood and Bentley period hung over the workmen's benches at Etruria, as a guide for form, mounting, and weight. Occasionally upon the plinth or foot of a vase, and out of sight unless unfitted, inscribed words similar to the above are found. Upon the plinth of a large jasper vase of good form are the words 'M. pot. press S.' Upon the plinth of a pillar boughpot '22 C One old piece inscribed T.B.O. was attributed to a modeller named Tebo ; the real signification being 'The top of the biscuit oven !' " "Wedgwood marks cannot be relied upon as exact evidence of any period of manufac- ture, excepting the various Wedgwood and Bentley stamps (Nos. 5 to 13), which were in use only from 1768 to 1780. The mark Wedg- wood being used now exactly as in the last century, the year of manufacture is deter- mined more by the material, colour, and work- manship. We know the date of certain de- signs made by Flaxman and other artists. For example, Flaxman designed the apotheosis of Homer in 1777; every plaque of that subject must, of course, be of later date. "The Wedgwood mark has been forged or imitated both in the last and present centuries, but these forgeries are of very little impor- tance. Some small blue and white medallions, marked 'Wedgewood & Co.,' are known. This mark is' said to have been used by some pot- ters at Stockton-on-Tees, who were compelled to disuse it by legal injunction. About the year 1840, a man named Smith set up a fac- tory in Holland, and stamped his ware 'Wedg- wood.' The Staffordshire firm added 'Etruria' to their mark (Nos. 21, 22, 23), but it was soon abandoned, and the simple word Wedg- wood used again, foreign merchants and bny- ers not understanding the addition. There is a tradition that a foreign dealer, anxious to purchase Wedgwood, travelled to Italy to look for the Staffordshire Etruria ! The forged marks are so rarely seen, they are almost worth collecting as curiosities : the pieces bear- ing the mark, however, are of such poor qual- ity as works of art, that no one would care to put them in the same cabinet with the gen- uine examples. "Any unmarked piece must not be con- demned upon that account alone. Undoubted pieces of genuine Old Wedgwood — many of fine quality — are at times met without any mark. The omission may occur from various causes — carelessness, putting the piece to the lathe after marking, thinning down medallions, or the lapidary grinding it down to fit a metal mount. Tf made at Etruria, either in Josiah's time or later, it will carry its own marks of identification." Definitions (From the Lord Tweedmouth Catalogue) Body. A potter's term for clay or other material, either used by itself or mixed in any proportion, for any required purpose. Can or Coffee-can. An old potter's term for the mug-shaped cyhndrical cup used for coffee, and still in use. Wedgwood and other potters frequently made one saucer do duty for both tea and coffee-cups. Many old serv- ices would be complete with, say, twelve tea- cups, twelve coffee-cans, and twelve saucers. Jasper. The material perfected by Wedg- wood from I77S to 1779, in which all his fine ornamental pieces were produced. This body has the property of incorporating the color in the mass. It was so named from its density, being as readily polished on the lathe as the natural stone. Alexander the Great— 24 (43) Granulated. A dotted finish found chiefly in the blue jasper, somewhat resembling the surface of Morocco leather. Its effect is sim- ilar to frosted or dead metal, and of great value for contrast in relief-work. Laminated. An effect produced upon the bevelled edges of plaques and medallions by the introduction of a thin, darker layer in the center, the edges afterwards polished. In a few instances the lamination extends entirely over the field, but is only visible when the re- lief is cut away at the back, to prevent expan- sion in firing. The effect is similar to a shell cameo of two or three strata. This process, granulation, and others, was one of the many inventions of Josiah Wedgwood to improve his pottery. Solid and Dipped Jasper. The earher jasper pieces in various colours were made in "solid" jasper, i.e. the colour was mixed in the mass. and the white relief applied above. Wedg- wood, however, found certain difficulties in firing, the surface being of an irregular dark colour in one part, and lighter in another. He then adopted a process of making the piece in the uncoloured white jasper, "dipping" the sur- face only with the colour. A great improve- ment — but he raised his prices fifty per cent for the new process. Tri-colour. In the jasper vases the ground may be pink, the borders green, the reliefs white, or varied at discretion. In some fine medallions, the field is of pink, green, black, or other colour — the border upon another col- our; reliefs in white. The beautiful tri-col- our pieces were not made before 1790, and are the most elaborate of Wedgwood's art- work. Trial. A technical term for an experi- mental piece, chiefly used to try the effect of the kiln fire, and to ensure the proper propor- tion of clays and colours. Such pieces were not intended for sale, but to be kept for fu- ture reference. Portraits, plaques, and me- dallions exist in Wedgwood, sometimes in- scribed by his own hand, with the proportion of ingredients used. A portrait of Linnasus has, "/ of O wind M, and I of N mind M." Trials are valued by collectors as a sketch by a great artist would be. Wedgwood's Prophecy With true prophetic instinct, Wedgwood wrote to his partner Bentley: "My Tab- lets only want age to make them valuable.' These fine productions, with the medallions, had Josiah's first and continued attention — from the period of his early labours at Burs- lem, then at Etruria, until the close of his busy life. Commencing with casts from the antique or impressions from Tassie's sulphurs, he was not content until the genius of Flax- man, Pacetti, Hackwood, Webber, and the best artists of his time made designs for him. His plaques entered into the scheme of all art decoration — for the mantelpiece, ceiling, door, pilasters, and the wainscot on the wall. The cabinet-maker used them as inlays, or other- wise applied them to the decoration of furni- ture. They were first made in the terra-cotta and biscuit bodies — then bu,t a simple cast from the mould — the field coloured by hand with enamel. In due time many improvements were carried out in the basalte and jasper bodies, all being carefully undercut and fin- ished by the modeller. Wedgwood often men- tioned the great trouble he had with the pot- ter's work. However carefully the plaque was finished in the clay, the colour of the ground or field being under the relief was liable to discolour the white subject above it. Another difficulty was to prevent a thin, quarter-of-an- inch, flat plaque curling up under the action of the fire. . Plaques of the old period of good quality are, and have always been, scarce. Some of the finest have been removed from mantelpieces and furniture, and framed for due preservation — they were not produced by the gross like machine-made tiles. How few of these last-century pieces are intact in our day may be judged from the estimate that all the known examples of the subject-plaques in jasper of the best period, i.e. made between 1773 and 1793, might be easily contained on the existing walls of an ordinary art gallery if hung in lines of not more than three deep, allowing space between each. If arranged on the plan of the annual Royal Academy Exhi- bition, from floor to ceiling, the portraits and basalte plaques might perhaps be included. Each example from the Arthur Sanderson Collection is designated by its number in the large catalogue made by Mr. Rathbone, here given in parenthesis, thus: (3). 1 (3) Four Boys Dancing. In a landscape with a tree on each side. Square, Sage green ground. Designed by Lady Templeton. 4^ by SV2 inches. 1789. Wedgwood, No. 17. From T. S. Walker Collection. 2 (8) Group of Nine Boys, seven dancing and two piping. Plaque ; oblong oval, light-blue waxen jasper. 6 bj' 8 inches. 1785. Wedgwood & Bentley, No. 8. 3 (10) 4 (11) S (12) The Judgment of Hercules, Artemisia, and Indian Bacchus. Three solid blue plaques, one oblong oval representing the Judgment of Hercules. 7 by 9^ inches. Two upright oval, Artemisia and Indian Bacchus. 6 by 4J4 inches. 1778. Wedgwood & Bentley, No. 8. From a mantelpiece in Ireland. 5a (15) The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche. Oblong oval, solid dark-blue jasper. 10 by I3j4 inches. 1787. Wedgwood, No. 17. This well-known and popular sub- ject is taken from the celebrated an- tique gem in the Marlborough Col- lection. A cameo measuring ij^ by V/s, inches, signed duly, which, how- ever, does not prove its antiquity, for, as Raspe says, "Such was the sway of public prejudice in favor of Greek taste, even those Roman artists affected to write their names in Greek, terminations, just as formerly our musicians and singers, from a similar prejudice for Italian musical excellence, affected Italian appella- tions.'' Ibis gem has been repro- duced in every material, engraved by Bartolozzi and others, and even bur- lesqued by Gillray. Some authorities considered the gem was engraved in the Fifteenth Century. A drawing of the subject by Pirro Ligorio was among the papers of Bagaris early in the Sixteenth Century. All, however, admit its excellence. Mr. Story- Maskelyne says, "In point of tech- nique, this has never been surpassed in any age. Indeed, alike for move- ment, grace of form, for tenderness of treatment and precision of model- ling, as for the delicate technical management of surface, this cameo may challenge any work of ancient or modern times.'' The entire collec- tion of Marlborough gems was sold en bloc at Messrs. Christie's, about 1870,' for 36,000 guineas, to David Bromilow, Esq., of Bitteswell Hall, Lutterworth, who bequeathed them to his daughter, Mrs. Jary. The collec- tion was dispersed again at Christie's, June 26, 1899, the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, Lot 160, bringing two thousand pounds — bought by Mr. Ready, not for the Marlbourgh fam- ily as reported, but for the Museum of Fine Arts at Boston, U. S. A., the entire collection of 739 lots producing thirty-four thousand, eight hundred and twenty-seven pounds, 7s. 6d. Wedgwood reproduced his gem in his jasper body in all sizes, from that of the original gem to this, the largest. Flaxman modelled the ex- quisite Sacrifice to Hymen (No. 14), as a companion to this subject. The plaque exhibited came from Russia; two only are known of the samt size. "These elegant works of art were intended by their producer to be mounted in many dif- ferent ways, not only in jewelry with borders of gold, silver, cut steel, ormolu, but also in cabinet-work, such as buffets, chairs, coffers, harp-sichords, and tea-caddies. They were actually used for all these purposes, and for many others. A long list of their various ap- plications will be found in Miss Meteyard's 'Handbook' (p. 76). "The larger plaques, described previously, were intended, so Wedgwood tells us, not only as cabinet pictures, but for the enrich- ment of important articles of furniture, and more particularly for the decoration of man- telpieces. Many of them are still to be found Empress Catherine II of Russia— 31 (63) in situ in the fireplaces for which they were originally made, but the majority of those which have survived the vicissitudes of time have been gathered into the collections of pub- lic and private museums. The suites of man- telpiece tablets generally consisted of five pieces, occasionally of seven. The central fea- ture of the arrangement was an important plaque of considerable length; on 'either side of this was a smaller plaque or frieze; at each angle a circular medallion. "A favorite plaque for the decoration of these mantelpieces was an enlarged copy of the Marlborough gem representing the Mar- riage of Cupid and Psyche. This cinque-cento cameo was reproduced in many different sizes. There is a large and fine specimen in the Brit- ish Museum. Other tablets, made chiefly for the same purpose, and produced in consider- able numbers and of important dimensions. were the following: A Bacchanalian Triumph, taken from the Borghese Vase in the Museum of the Louvre; An Offering to Flora, model- led by Bacon in 1778; The Apotheosis of Homer, modelled by Flaxman from a vase painting; the Nine Muses, modelled by Flax- man; The Dancing Hours, designed by Flax- man in 1776; Priam begging the Body of Hec- tor from Achilles, modelled by Pacetti from the bas-relief at the back of the Barberini sarcophagus, but with some modifications of the original design; A Group of Bacchanalian Boys under an arbour with festoons of pan- ther skins, by Lady Diana Beauclerc." Professor Church. Sb (13) Bacchus and Two Fauns. Upright oval, solid blue jasper. The beveled edge of the plaque laminated. Taken from a mantelpiece. 7^ by S^ inches. 1769. Wedgwood and Bent- ley, No. 8. Pender and Stuart Collections. 6 (19) An Offering to Peace. A fine plaque in black jasper, white relief. Designed by Lady Templeton, and is No. 238 in Wedgwood's Catalogue. 7^2 by igyi inches. 1790. Wedg- wood, No. 17. Plaques in this color are of the greatest rarity, two only being known of this measurement. The same subject exists in dark blue, but reduced — the plaque only measuring 6 by IS inches, the figures being one- fourth less than the one exhibited. The earlier specimens of the black and white show brown stains upon the edges of the white reliefs. 7 (20) Priam Begging the Body of Hector from Achilles. Dark blue jasper. 6}i by ISJ4 inches. 1789. Wedg- wood, No. 17. The original of this subject, with the Sacrifice of Iphigenia (No. 20), and two groups of warriors and horses, is found in the Capitol Mu- seum sarcophagus in which the Port- land Vase was found. It was de- signed by Pacetti at Rome, under the supervision of Flaxman, 1788. Flaxman, reporting to Wedgwood the progress of Pacetti's modelling, stated that it would require his attention for a fortnight after Pacetti had finished. 8 (22) Five Warriors and Two Horses. Circular, dark blue jasper. Designed by Pacetti from the end of the same sarcophagus. 4^4 inches. 1790. Wedg- wood, No. 17. 9 (23) Three Male^ Three Female Figures AND A Horse.. Pendant to the above. Circular, dark blue jasper. Designed by Pacetti from the end of the same sarcophagus. 4}^ inches. 1790. Wedg- wood, No. 17. These fine plaques are very scarce, so far the only pair known. They were exhibited at the Liverpool Loan Exhibition of Old Wedgwood, 1879, and illustrated in the catalogue. 10 (28) A Sacrifice to Ceres. Oblong rec- tangular plaque. Dark blue ground, white relief, with festoons of flowers. 4% by iiYs inches. 178s. Wedg- wood, No. 18. 11 (30) Bacchus and Two Bacchantes. Oblong oval, dark blue. Designed by Flaxman. From the Borghese or Campana Vase. 8j4 by 65^ inches. 1789. Wedgwood, No. 18. Tulk Collection. John Flaxman "The story of Flaxman's life is so well known that the briefest summary of the chief incidents of its earlier part is all that need be here given. His father was a maker and seller of plaster casts, but was occasionally employed as a modeller by Roubiliac, Schee- makers, and other sculptors of the time. His second son, the subject of this notice, was born on July 6, 1755. The boy's health was weak, and his time was spent, except for a brief period, at home, and chiefly amongst the casts of his father's shop. We hear, however, of the notice taken of him by some of his father's artistic and literary patrons. He oc- cupied himself in drawing and modelling and in teaching himself classic fables and Latin. When no more than twelve years old he gained the first prize for a medal from the Society of Arts, which awarded him a sim- ilar distinction three years later. From 1767 onwards he contributed works to several pub- lic exhibitions : in 1770 he exhibited a wax model of Neptune in the Royal Academy, of which he then became a student. In the com- petition for the gold medal in 1772 the Presi- dent and Council of the Royal Academy awarded it to a rival. This reverse seems to have exercised a salutary effect upon the youth, checking his tendency to self-assertion. In 1775 he began working for Wedgwood, who, during the last twenty years of his life, helped in many ways the young sculptor. When Flaxman was twenty-four he executed the life-like portrait of himself from the speci- men at South Kensington ; for this the author- ities of the Museum gave 161 pounds 14 shil- lings just thirty years ago. A replica of this terra-cotta medallion was in the Propert Col- lection. "Flaxman's series of monumental designs was commenced in 1780, and was continued until his death in 1826. Of his larger works these public monuments were the best, but as the marbles were too often completed by Italian workmen, the spirit of Flaxman's orig- inal models frequently evaporated under their Cream Ewer— 64 (145) hands, a certain degree of emptiness and in- sipidity being the result. In his smaller works, especially in the wax portraits and classical bas-reliefs executed entirely by his own hand for Wedgwood, and in such pieces as the statuette in terra-cotta of a seated fig- ure with a syrinx in the right hand in the Victoria and Albert Museum, the life and power of the sculptor is well seen. By many critics his pen and pencil and washed sketches are considered to be Flaxman's most charac- teristic and satisfactory work. Their simplic- ity and grace are caught from antique vase- paintings and bas-reliefs, but these drawings, slight though they generally are, are instinct with personal observation, and possess the charm of tender feeling and happy invention. "In 1782 Flaxman married Ann Denman ; five years afterwards, helped by the recom- mendations and pecuniary aid of Wadgwood, he went to Rome, where he remained until 1794; the rest of his life was spent in Lon- don." Professor Church. 12 (31 ) Five OF THE Muses. Oblong rectang- ular plaque. Green ground. Designed by Flaxman. 314 by 7^ inches. 1787. Wedgwood, No. 18. Sibson Collection. 13 (32) A Sacrifice to Hymen. Oblong rec- tangular plaque, green jasper ground. 3 by 8j4 inches. 1790. Wedgwood, No. 8. Vase— 40 (79) 14 (34) A Sacrifice to Hymen. Dark blue, circular medallion. 8^ inches. 1789. Wedgwood, No. 2. Sibson Collection. 15 (36) Four Boys as Silenus and Fawni Companions. Upright oval, blue ground. 9 by 7 inches. Wedgwood and Bentley, No. 8. 16 (38) Cybele in a Chariot Drawn by Lions. Oblong oval, dark blue. 6 by 8 inches. Wedgwood, No. 18. Bought by Mr. Tulk at Wedg- wood's warehouse, York Street, St. James', 1794. Cox and Bartlett Col- lections. Illustrated in Liverpool, 1879 Catalogue, Plate V. 17 (39) The Marriage-Feast of Perseus and Andromeda. Oblong oval, blue ground. 7 by 9^ inches. 1785. Sibson and T. S. Walker Collec- tions. 18 (40) War of Jupiter and the Titans, companion plaque. 7 by 9^^ inches. 1765. Sibson and Cox Collections. 19 The Medusa. Circular, solid blue jasper, very high relief. Modelled by Flaxman about 1766. s inches. Wedgwood and Bentley, No. 9. This rare plaque is a tribute to Wedgwood's skill as a potter, the process of firing a mass of relief as this plaque would demand every pos- sible care and attention. 20 Mercury Joining the Hands of Britain and France. Solid blue ground. Designed by Flaxman. 954 by 9 inches. 1787. Wedgwood, No. 17- This fine relief was designed by Flaxman to commemorate the Treaty of Commence between France and Great Britain, signed at Versailles, September 27, 1786 — a beneficial treaty resulting in a great increase of trade between the two countries. The first relief from this subject was sent to Lord Auckland, then Envoy-Ex- traordinary of Great Britain, residing in Paris. Frederick Locker-Lampson Collec- tion. Illustrated in Meteyard's "Life of Wedgwood," Vol. II, p. 564, and "Choice Examples of Wedgwood." 21 Friendship Consoling Affliction. Large blue plaque ; figures and trees designed by Lady Templeton, signed twice by Lady Templeton and twice by Wedgwood. 13 by 5% inches. 2ia A Cameo Portrait, in blue and white jasper, of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (1767-1820). In a silver frame 2y2 by 2 inches; designed by John Flaxman. Very rare in any form. Presented by Mr. Frederick Rath- bone, May 19, 1910. "The peculiarity in chemical composition which marks out the jasper- ware body from all other ceramic pastes was brought about by the introduction of a compound of the ele- ment barium. This metal occurs in nature chiefly in the form of sulphate, the mineral, which is found abundantly in Derbyshire, be- ing known as cawk, heavy-spar, and barytes. The distinctive character of the alkaline earth contained in heavy-spar seems to have been first ascertained by Guyton de Morveau in 1779; four years afterwards Withering recog- nized the same earth in a mineral carbonate, now called witherite, from Leadhills in Lan- arkshire. But as early as in the year 1773 Wedgwood was making experiments with these two minerals. The chemical knowledge of his day was, however, too imperfect to be of great use to the inquiring potter, who was obviously much puzzled by the apparently capricious behaviour of the two compounds under the action of fire. In 1774 he wrote to his partner Bentley, T must go into Derby- shire to search for spath fusible or No. 19' : not long afterwards he made the journey thither and found what he required. Wedg- wood's keen observation and his untiring assiduity in experiment were soon rewarded. He had learnt the chief properties, as con- stituents of his new jasper-ware, of the sul- phate of baryta or cawk and of the rather more fusible carbonate, although we possess no evidence of his having discovered the dif- ferences in their chemical composition. Henceforth cawk became the chief ingredient of his 'jasper,' although a small quantity of the carbonate of bartya was occasionally intro- duced as well. The other materials were clay and finely ground flint. He tried several kinds of clay, such as Weal blue clay, Dorset clay, and Cornish China-clay. He also used Cornish or China-stone, which contains a not- able proportion of felspar. Wedgwood wrote to his partner in somewhat enigmatical terms when indicating the ingredients of his jasper- body, saying that its composition was 'too precious to reveal all at once.' One of his formulae, when translated into percentages, is probably pretty nearly represented by these flgures — sulphate of baryta, 59 parts ; clay, 29 ; flint, 10; carbonate of baryta, 2. "The useful fireproof cement lately intro- duced into commerce unuder the name 'Puri- machos' consists of the same ingredients, the clay being in smallest proportion. Some of Wedgwood's chemical vessels approach it very closely in composition. "One of the chief charms of jasper-ware con- sists in the daintiness of its colour. Besides several tones and hues of blue derived from cobalt, we meet with a yellow, a lilac, and a green jasper ; there is also a black variety. Each of these colours occurs in several modi- fications. The black is sometimes bluish, some- times neutral ; the green, which was derived from a mixture of iron and cobalt, though al- ways toned with some grey, exhibits many different hues, ranging from yellowish-green to bluish-green ; the lilac, due to manganese, varies generally between a pink and a pale purple, but occasionally presents the precise hue of a mixture of cocoa-decoction and milk; and the yellow is slightly greyish, with a ten- dency towards an amber hue in some exam- ples ; in other pieces it approaches the colour of the lemon, while some varieties may be called buff. As a rule Wedgwood limited himself to the association, in any single pro- duction of his kiln, of no more than two of the above colours, with the addition of white; the least happy in effect of these ought not to be passed over. The facility with which the white jasper-body became tinctured with the colours imparted by various metallic ox- ides very frequently caused the thinner parts of the white reliefs to acquire a stain from the coloured surface below them. This discol- oration is rarely absent from the edges of the white relief on a black ground, which fre- quently presents a dirty-yellow hue." — Profes- sor Church on Josiah Wedgwood. Miniature Portrait Plaques These miniature plaques are, in number and variety, the most important of all Wedgwood produced. The period of manufacture can be traced equally with the plaques from their gradual and certain improvements, gained from knowledge acquired in surmounting the recurring troubles of the potter with his work. These were at first made, chiefly in biscuit and basalte, in series such as "Kings and Queens of Asia Minor, Statesmen and Philos- ophers, Heads of the Popes, Kings and Queens of England," etc. Intended for the trays of cabinets — the subjects taken from medals and similar sources — they were not to be compared with the later fine work of the Flaxman period. These fine jasper medallions were used by the Birmingham and Sheffield manufacturers for amounting as jewellery in gold, silver, or steel; for inlaying in bon-bon or toothpick boxes, to be sold at home or ex- ported abroad. When Wedgwood could write to his partner Bentley, "We are now absolute with the jasper," meaning that he had sur- mounted all the difficulties, he did not rest without further improving his medallions. The most beautiful of all were yet to be created — the tri-colour examples, where the field is of one colour, the border of another. Another advance was the polishing of the edges, some- times laminated, that is, with a darker line of jasper showing in the polish, giving the effect of a cameo of two strata. His perfect medal- lion, free from all staining of the reliefs, as an example of the potter's handicraft, has never been equalled at any time in any coun- try. We yet require some absolute rule as to size in classifying medallions. A large cameo may rank as a medallion, or a large medallion I v'cv'cv Vase-43 (86) as a plaque. Wedgwood's opinion of his own work was : "I have endeavoured to preserve the style and spirit, or if you please the ele- gant simplicity, of antique forms, and so do- ing to introduce all the variety I was able; and this Sir William Hamilton assures me I may venture to do. . . . Was anything of consequense done in the cameo or medal- lion kind before you? "In real stones and in imitation of real stones in paste, or soft col- oured glass, much has formerly been done, witness the Portland vase and numberless pieces of inferior note. Basso-relievos of various sizes have likewise been made of of various sizes have likewise been made of a warm brown earth of one colour; but the improved kind of two or more colours, and a true porcelain texture, none were made by the ancients or attempted by the moderns that I ever heard of, till some of them began to copy my jasper cameos." (Wedgwood to Darwin, June 28, 1789.) 22 (41) Marcus Aukelius. Upright oval. Solid blue, high relief. Name incised on field. 654 by 4^ inches. 1779. Wedgwood and Bentley, No. 8. Bartlett Collection. 23 (42) Nero. Upright oval. Solid blue, high relief. Name incised on field. 55^ by 4}4 inches. 1779. Wedgwood and Bentley, No. 8. 24 (43) Alexander the Great. Solid blue. A fine head in high relief. 3% by 3^ inches. 1775. 25 (48) Marcus Antonius. White jasper, in exceptionally high relief. 3^ by 2^ inches. 26 (49) Head of an Old Satyr. Oval, dark blue and white, waxen jasper. 3 by 254 inches. 1770. Wedgwood and Bentley, No. ri. 26a (ss) Prince of Wales, afterwards King George IV. (1762-1830). Pink jas- per, high relief. Modelled by Flax- man. 454 by 3^ inches. 1790. Wedg- wood, No. 18. A rare portrait; the only one in this color known. Portraits of Great Men Wedgwood tells us that he aimed at produc- ing "regular biographical suites of distin- quished characters, in different ages and na- tions, for the illustration of that pleasing and instructive history"; he adds, "With this view, he has been at considerable expense in col- lecting, repairing, modelling, and arranging portraits of illustrious men, both of ancient and modern times. The more recent periods of history are illustrated, in the succeeding one, by, a considerable number of princes, statesmen, philosophers, poets, artists, and other eminent men, down to the present time. These portraits are made, both in the basalt and jasper, with colored grounds. "Here we enter upon the consideration of the most interesting group of Wedgwood's productions. The majority of the specimens preserved in museums or the cabinets of col- lectors are in white and blue jasper; those with black, green or pink grounds are not common. A few are wholly white. "The portraits of this class were modelled in some instances from the life by modellers em- ployed by Wedgwood. A good many, also taken from the life, were the independent work of such artists as James Tassie, Isaac Gosset, and Eley George Mountstephen, but were reproduced in the jasper-body by Wedg- wood from casts which were taken from the originals. Medals, paintings, and engravings also furnish the materials from which the artists employed in the pottery worked. Cameo Portraits "A few of his cameo portraits were made by Wedgwood of unusually large dimensions and in very high relief, but the known ex- amples are extremely rare. They were ovals averaging ioJ4 inches by 7J4 inches in di- mensions. Amongst them we find the follow- ing: Robert Boyle, Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Joseph Priestly, Sir William Hamilton, Sir Joseph Banks, and Dr. Daniel Charles So- lander. It is unfortunate that two fine speci- mens of these blue and white jasper cameos, portraits of Newton and Locke, perished in the Alexandra Palace fire of 1873. There are five in the British Museum, presented by the late Sir A. Wollaston Franks. . .. A re- markably fine piece of work, as regards both color and size, is the portrait of the Empress of Russia, Catherine II. The ground here is of a very rare hue — an exceedingly dark olive-green. The illustration is also from the Sanderson collection. This portrait is derived from a gem engraved by Maria Feodorowna, afterwards Empress of Russia. (See page 16.) William Hackwood "Wedgwood's chief modeller of likenesses, William Hackwood, doubtless produced a very great number of these cameos, but very few bear his signature. Among these may be mentioned those of Edward Bourne, the Rev- erend William Willet, and Voltaire, one of the likenesses of Wedgwood, and a third ver- sion of that of George III. But far less in- complete information is available with regard to the assistance afforded by John Flaxman in this department of Wedgwood's productions. To him may be assigned the following por- traits amongst a large number which are also undoubtedly his work: Lord Amherst, Sir Joseph Banks, Mrs. Barbauld, T. O. Bergman, A. K. Boerhaave, Earl of Chatham, Sir Wil- liam Chambers, Queen Charlotte, Captain Cook, Dr. Erasmus Darwin, Duchess of De- vonshire, General G. A. Eliott, Dr. J. Fother- gill, David Garrick, George III., Sir W. Ham- ilton, Warren Hastings, Sir F. W. Herschel, Viscount Hood, Dr. Samuel Johnson, E. Kaempfer, Admiral Viscount Keppel, E^rl Mansfield, Sir Isaac Newton, Lord North, Hon. William Pitt, Queen of Portugal, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Marquis of Rockingham, Mrs. Siddons, Dr. D. C. Solander, and the King of Sweden." Professor Church. 27 (56) General Washington, first Presi- dent of the United States, 1732-1799. Black jasper, white relief. The only example of this color known. 4^ by 3H inches. 1790. Wedgwood, No. 19. This portrait is often thought to be Chatham. The old mould at Etruria is marked "Washington." Mr. Gatty, at Liverpool, 1879, identified it as modelled from a French medal, and illustrated in Snowden's Medallic Por- traits of Washington. Cox and Stuart Collections. 28 (57) Duke of Bridgewater (Francis Egerton), 1729-1803. Founder of the Bridgewater Canal, now the Ship Canal from Liverpool to Man- chester. Dark blue jasper, very high relief. Modelled by Flaxman. $% by 4 inches. 1785. Wedgwood, No. 18. A very rare portrait. Three ex- amples only are known, of which this is the only one recorded in this color. It may have been a private portrait. The relief is quite one inch from the field, and the back is hol- lowed to a thin layer to save dam- age in the fire. One of the finest portraits made by Wedgwood. 29 (59) William Pitt (1759-1806). Black jasper high white relief. The cele- brated portrait modelled by Flaxman. 4 by 3 inches. 1785. Wedgewood No. 18. Hankey Collection. 30 (60) David Garrick (1716-1779). Black jasper, high white rehef. 4 by 3 inches. 1779. Wedgwood and Bent- ley, No. 8. Cox Collection. 31 (63) Empress Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796). Large model. Designed by Flaxman. Blue ground, polished laminated edge. 4 by 3^4 inches. 1776. Wedgwood and Bentley, No. 10. 32 (64) Lord Auckland (1780-1814) and (65) Lady Auckland. A pair of high re- lief portraits, dark blue ground. De- signed by Flaxman. Original carved frames, 4}^ by 3f^ inches. 1789. Wedgwood, No. 17. 33 Vase— 45 (88) 34 (66) The Marquis of Buckingham (George Nugent Temple), 1735-1815. Blue ground. Modelled by Flaxman. 3}i by 2j4 inches. 1789. Wedgwood, No. 18. 35 (67) Robert Boyle, philosopher (1627- 1691). One of the few large, high relief portraits. Solid blue jasper. The relief raised 1% inch. loj/^ by 7}4 inches. I77S. Wedgwood and Bentley, No. 8. From Russia and T. S. Walker Collection. Illustrated in Rathbone's "Old Wedgwood," Plate XXXI. 36 (71) James Tassie. The celebrated modeller, often called the "Scotch Wedgwood." The portrait was mod- elled by William Tassie, and is in- scribed, "James Tassie died, i June, 1799, in his 64th year. W. Tassie, F. 1799." Tassie "Wedgewood appears at first to hfeve been -de- pendent for his copies of antique and modern gems upon James Tassie. A bill of his is extant, dated November 11, 1769, in which Messrs. Wedgwood and Bentley are charged lis. 8d. for seventy impressions in sulphur, and 2s. for a couple of impressions in enamel glass. The majority of cameos and intaglios com- prised in Wedgwood's first catalogue, pub- lished in 1773, were derived from moulds fur- nished by Tassie, but in later years Wedg- wood employed moulders of his own, by whom an immense number of impressions were made from the original gems in many famous cabinets. Still, a few words concerning James Tassie may be of interest, for to this very skillful artist Wedgwood not improbably owed the idea of copying in a plastic material, not merely antique gems, but the portraits of the men and women of his day. "James Tassie was born at Pollokshaws, near Glasgow, on July 15, 1735. He com- menced his career as a stonemason, but soon turned his attention to the arts of modelling and sculpture, studying in the academy estab- lished in Glasgow by Robert and Andrew Foulis. From Glasgow Tassie went, in 1763, to Dublin, where, in conjunction with Dr. Quin, he perfected the vitreous compositions used in copying antique gems. In 1766 Tassie settled in London. In the same year the So- ciety of Arts granted him a premium for his 'Profiles in Pastes.' He exhibited 'Portraits Modelled in Paste' at the Society of British Artists in 1768; in the following year he con- tributed other portraits to the exhibition of the Royal Academy. The extent of his labours, both as an original artist and as a copyist, may be gauged by the fact that the catalogue of his reproductions from the an- tique, issued in 1791, contained no less than 15,800 numbered items ; to these must be added several hundred portraits medallions, which are undoubtedly of his own modelling and execution, although he copied in his white vitreous paste many of the works of other sculptors and medallists. Tassie's larger cameo portraits are generally of high quality, and may be ranked with those which Wedg- wood produced in his jasper-body. Indeed, there occur examples of the busts of many distinguished persons both in Tassie enamel and in Wedgwood paste. And it may be safely concluded that the originals of many of these were the work of James Tassie." Professor Church. Zl (74) Vase. Etruscan or Greek form, black basalt. Painted in encaustic colors as a memorial to Henry Earle, and dated 1774. 1454 inches high. Vize Collection. Illustrated in Rathbone's "Old Wedgwood," Plate XVIII. The vase is painted all round with key and other borders, and on the front an angel pointing to the in- scription : "Memoriae S. Henrici Earle vixit annos LXI Mort : Ian : Die XXXI. A. D. MDCCLXXIIII"; on the reverse a nymph sacrificing at an altar and "Amicitae jEternae; S." At the sides, on ribbons wreath- ing cypress branches : "Incorrupta fides, nudaquqe veritas," and "Quando inveniet parem." The Earle family belonged to Lancashire, some mem- bers still residins; in Liverpool, and neighborhood. This interesting vase is of the same material, and probably painted by the same artist as the historic vase by Wedgwood himself, while Bentley turned the lathe, during the opening ceremony of the Etruria works ; which vase, now in the pos- session of Godfrey Wedgwood, Esq. is inscribed : "June XIII. MDCCLXIX, one of the first day's productions at Etruria, in Stafford- shire, by Wedgwood & Bentley. Artes Etruriae renascuntur." Memorial vases are not unknown in Wedgwood : Josiah's own monument in Stoke-on-Trent church has two basalt vases fixed to Flaxman's in- scribed marble. The monument to Lord Chetwynd in Ashley Church, Shropshire, is enriched with a plain basalt vase, designed by Wedgewood, the designers of these vases taking the antique cinerary urn as their model. Now that cremation is gen- erally practised, the memorial vase may still have its use. Other vessels for ecclesiastical use exist 'in Wedgewood. A basalt bap- tismal font is still in use in a Mid- land church. A similar example is in the collection of Sir Joseph Hooker, which was long used in a country church. It was pointed out to the rector that its legality was doubtful, the rubric stipulating that the font should be of stone. The rector ac- cepted Sir Joseph's offer of a new stone font in exchange for the Wedg- wood one. 38 (7S) Vase. In form of a tree trunk. Red body. Reliefs of a figure of Cupid and bold foliage in black. 854 inches high. 1789. Wedgwood, No. 18. 39 (78) Vases. A pair : known as the "Wine and Water Vases." Solid green jas- per. The Wine Vase has the figure of a Satyr holding the horns of a goat ; festoons of vines ; laurel and other borders — the Water Vase a fig- ure of a Triton holding a marine mon- ster ; festoons of aquatic leafage, etc. These vases were first designed by Flaxman for Wedgwood in 177s, and are the only pair known in this color. Wine Vase, 14^ ; Water, 15 inches high. 1782. Wedgwood, No. 18. 40 (79) Vases. A pair ; the "Wine and Water Vases,'' designed by Flaxman ; in this instance altered for the relief. Black basalt body, covered with a bronze surface. Handles of figures of a Triton and Satyr. Reliefs of a Bac- chanalian dance and the Birth and Education of Bacchus. Mounted in chased ormolu of French work, late Louis XVI or First Empire period. Height, 16 inches each. 1785. Wedg- wood, No. 17. Marryat and T. S. Walker Collec- tions. 41 (83) Jardiniere. Solid blue and white jas- per ; rectangular top pierced for bulbs or flowers. Relief figure of Psyche reclining; flowers and borders. 8 inches long by 5^4 high. 1790. Wedg- wood, No. 19. 42 (85) Vase. Blue solid jasper, granulated ground ; reliefs of the Nine Muses and Apollo; trees, borders of foHage, etc. The cover has three shaped holders for bulbs. 10 inches. 1790. Wedgwood, No. 19. 43 (86) Vase. Oviform, Etruscan shape, pale blue ground. Reliefs of "Blindman's Buff;" classic border, chain and foli- age; white plinth, ii inches. 1785. Wedgwood, No. 18. 44 (87) Vases. A pair: oviform. Tri-color; lilac or pink jasper. Reliefs of Nymphs, etc. Seven rows of gradu- ated quartrefoils on blue and one on Vase, A Sacrifice to Hymen— 44 (87) stoppers. Classic borders in green on the white plinths ; mask handles, etc. Modelled by Hackwood. 8J4 inches high. 1792. Wedgewood, No. ipri. Rare and fine examples of the tri- colored jasper. Made for an Austrian princess. From T. S. Walker, Holtz, and Han- key collections. 45 (88) Vase. Green jasper, oviform, mask handles. Reliefs of the "Dancing Hours," leafage, etc. Modelled by Hackwood. 8j^ inches high. Wedg- wood, No. 19. H "Many examples with white reliefs on a green or lilac ground occur. There are numer- ous varieties of hue and tint on these pieces, the green being sobered by the presence of much grey and ranging from a sage hue to one in which there is a good deal of yellow, while the lilac is sometimes pinkish and some- times bluish. Some tri-colored combinations are also met with corresponding with the tri- colored medallions described; a few vases have three colors in addition to white. In such cases the happiest effects are perhaps realized by means of chequer-work and other conventional designs rather than by the intro- duction of figure subjects." Professor Church. 46 (91) Jardiniere. Oval. Pale or celadon green; with loose cover, and shaped holders for four growing bulbs. Re- liefs of the Nine Muses and Apollo, borders and ornaments. 1790. 6 inches high, 6 by 8^ diam. Wedg- wood, No. 19. Bought at Wedgwood's Show-room, York Street, St. James, London, T. S. Walker and J. H. Maclaren Collec- tions. 47 (94) Vase. Black jasper, tri-color. Re- liefs of scroll, foliage, and shells in white; graduated quatrefoils in green, etc. yyi inches high. 1793. Wedg- 48 (97) Vases. A pair: oviform, with mask handles. Black jasper; white reliefs of Nymphs : three dancing Graces, Venus bound, Coriolanus' wife and mother — all from Flaxman's design. 654 inches high. 1792. Wedgwood, No. 20. Sibson, Braxton Hicks, T. S. Wal- ker, Holt, and Hankey Collections. 49 (99) Jardiniere and Stand. Circular; black jasper; white reliefs of twelve upright scrolls, divided by borders. Bold honeysuckle and ribbon borders. On the stand are fifteen cockle-shells. Modelled by Hackwood. sH inches high by 754 diam. 1793. Wedgwood, No. 18. Barlow Collection. H "Many different forms of pots for growing bulbs, such as the hyacinth, tulip, and crocus, and for flowering plants, were made in the jasper-body. Wedgwood's good taste in the matter of decoration was apparent in these works, for he was careful to select such orna- mental motives as would not clash with nor overpower the foliage and blossoms to be as- sociated with these vessels. The slight con- cave curvature which he gave to the flower- pots relieved them from the ordinary prosaic appearance of such things, while the rims were made so solid as to be proof against any ordinary blow. The material and the work- manship were of the highest quality, quite equal to those of the best ornamental vases." Professor Church. 50 (loo) Spill Vase. Black jasper; white re- lief of the arabesque scroll, acanthus, etc. 2^ inches high. Wedgwood, No. 19. 51 (102) Bridal or Marriage Vase. Black jas- per; white reliefs of sixteen torches interlaced with strap-work. Egg and tongue, acanthus and floral borders. Cover has two doves and classic bor- der. 7 inches high. 1792. Wedg- wood, No. 18. Barlow Collection. Engraved in Meteyard's "Life of Wedgwood," vol. ii, p. 5x4. 52 (104) Vase. Oviform shape. Black jasper, white relief. Bold arabesque wreaths, ribbon and classic borders, etc. Cov- er has a figure of Cupid with a torch. Modelled by Hackwood. 8^ inches high. 1780. Wedgwood, No. 19. H An early example of the black and white body. Square Pedestal, with curved cor- ners. Basalt, painted on three sides in encaustic colors. Reliefs of Cu- pids carrying wreaths, in red. Model- led by Keeling. 4}^ inches high by y/i square. 1767. Wedgwood, No. 4. K "It is probable that the first vases made of the jasper-body were produced in the solid variety, but this was soon in great measure displaced by the kind in which the surface only was tinctured with color, and which was capable of realizing more delicate and varied effects of hue and tone. Jasper vases were first exhibited to the public in the early part of 1782 in the show-rooms in Greek Street, Soho. The forms, generally derived more or less directly from the antique, were for the most part satisfactory in outline and propor- tion ; the sizes varied, and sometimes attained considerable dimensions, a few specimens be- ing 18 inches or even more in height. Many of the subjects in white relief, with which these vases were decorated, had been previ- ously employed for tablets, but others were specially modelled for the purpose. Flax- man's designs were extensively employed. The manufacture of these fine vases, and the in- troduction of new types with frequent rear- rangements of the ornamental details, con- years after the latter date, very fine examples were turned out from the works, the original the death of Wedgwood in 1795. For a few moulds with the old staff of skilled workmen and modellers being of course still available. But the loss of the master soon made itself felt. The guiding and controlling spirit was gone. Refinement of material, care in execu- tion and delicacy of color, were no longer de- manded in the same uncompromising manner as heretofore. There soon set in a mechanical and artistic decadence." Church. 523(105) Jardiniere. Oval; black jasper; white relief of the Nine Muses and Apollo by Flaxman. Shell handles, festoons, trophies, etc. Cover with four shaped holders for growing bulbs. 6 by 6 by 8J^ inches. 1789. Wedgwood, No. 19. Barlow and Stuart Collections, 53 (106) Vase. Oviform; green ground, foli- age handles. Reliefs of Friendship consoling Affliction, leafage, etc. S}i inches. 1790. Wedgwood, No. 19. 54 (108) Large Vase. Etruscan or Greek form ; scroll and head handles with swans on the shoulders. Painted in red and white encaustic colors, with a warrior and horse, figures and foli- age. 25 inches. 1770. Wedgwood, No. 19. A Canon Powell Collection. (Painted by Mrs. Wilcox, probably.) "Occasionally we learn incidentally some in- teresting particulars concerning these artists. Thus we find that, in 1769, Wedgwood wrote of an accomplished painter of admirable fig- ures and borderings on his Etruscan ware, a Mrs. Wilcox, who had just left the china fac- tory at Worcester, 'She is a daughter to that Fry who was famous for doing heads in mexxotint.' This was Thomas Frye, the in- ventor of Bow china. Thus, a casual notice of his daughter affords interesting evidence of an hereditary talent, and suggests a link of connection between three famous potworks." Professor Church. 25 - 55 (ill) Vase. Jasper, of three colors; ground, dark-blue; border and qua- trefoils in green. Four reliefs of Dipping Achilles, etc., in compart- ments. 8j4 inches. 1790. This vase is evidently one of a set of three, the centre one being illus- trated in Meteyard's "Life of Wedg- wood," vol. ii, p. 517 (Bohn Collec- tion). The vases had evidently been Vase-57 (115) mounted in metal ormolu, each hav- ing holes pierced to fasten the mount- ings. The vase still bears a metal terminal, in the form of a bunch of grapes, upon the cover, which Miss Meteyard mistakes for gilt jasper. She says, "Gilding was rarely intro- duced upon the jasper vases; but in this case the crowning bunch of grapes is so decorated." 56 (112) Oviform Vase and Pedestal. Vase dark-blue ground, Etruscan handles, reliefs of boys playing "Blindman's Buff," leafage, etc. 11 inches. 1789. Wedgwood, No. 17. Illustrated in Meteyard's "Wedg- wood and His Works," Plate XXI. Pedestal of square form, dark-blue jasper. Ram's heads and Griffins at corners. Reliefs of Nymphs, classic borders, etc. 9 inches high. 1785. Wedgwood, No. 18. Sibson Collection. 57 (115) Vase. Blue, granulated ground. Re- liefs of Cupids carrying garlands of flowers, etc. Scroll handles with me- dallions at the base. 7^ inches. Wedgwood, No. 18. Bartlett Collection. 58 (120) Vase and Pedestal. Vase dark-blue ground. Reliefs of the Education of Bacchus, leafage, etc. 10^ inches. 1785. Wedgwood, No. 19. Pedestal of square form, dark-blue jasper. Ram's heads and griffins at corners. Reliefs of nymphs, classic borders, etc. 9 inches high. 1785. Wedgwood, No. 18. Sibson Collection. 59 (122) Square Pedestals, of altar form. A pair. Dark blue. Reliefs of Lady Templeton's groups of Women and Children, rams' heads, etc. 55/2 inches high. 1786. Wedgwood, No. 19. S9a( 126) Oval Pierced Dish. Solid yellow- green body. Relief of festoons and leafage in gray. 1793. 7 by S%. inches. Wedgwood, No. ig. S9t>(i33)SucRiER. Dark blue jasper; covered with reliefs of the arabesque scroll, Flaxman ribbon, acanthus, etc. Oak leaves and acorns on cover. Medal- lion in ventre with J. E. M. in grace- ful script letters. Considered to be one of the finest extant. Period, 1790. Wedgwood, No. 18. Bale and Stuart Collections. S9c(iS3)Cream-Ewer of small size. Red ground ; wreath in black. Wedg- wood, No. 20. 26 - Jasper Forms for Table Ornaments "These fine jasper pieces, 'Class XIII.,' are described in Wedgwood's Catalogue under the heading 'Tea and Coffee Equipages, etc.,' and probably never classed as 'Ware' at any time. These pieces are made of the finest jasper body, and are in every way equal in quality to anything made in that material. .Their form always graceful, the colour even, the dice or quatrefoil ornaments graduating in size to suit the form of the vessel and radiating from a centre. The edges of the covers always fit well, the inside of the cups, bowls, and other pieces were polished on the wheel, not glazed. It is remarkable that a defective piece in this class is very rarely seen, those made in the early period not excepted. These costly tea vessels could only have been made for presents, and were never destined for ordinary use. Nearly every piece bears the unknown workman's mark O or 3 who appears to have given this work his sole attention. Wedgwood appears to have been satisfied with the perfected jas- per specimens. He says, in his Catalogue of 1787 : 'They are likewise now made in the jasper of two colours, polished within (not glazed) like the natural stone, orna- mented with bas-reliefs, and very highly fin- ished.' " Rathbone. "Tea and coffee sets, including oval trays for the whole equipage, cups and saucers, bowls and sugar-basins, with teapots and cof- fee-pots, were made in an immense variety of forms, and in all the colours of which the jasper-body was susceptible. Some of the blue and white pieces are of solid jasper, oth- ers of jasper-dip. Sugar-bowls as well as the cups were often polished on the inside by means of the lapidary's wheel. The tea equi- pages, particularly the teacups and saucers in jasper-dip coloured blue, sage-green, or lilac in radiating stripes, and with acanthus-leaf borders, and, on the cups, children at play, are simply exquisite." Professor Church. 60 (128) Teacup and Saucer. Black jasper, with festoons of ivy in white relief and a blue and white cameo — a rare combination. Modelled by Hack- wood. Wedgwood, No. 19. H Potts Collection. Illustrated in Rathbone's "Old Wedgwood," Plate XLII. 61 (129) Coffee-can. Black jasper. White reliefs of Gemini, one of the signs of the Zodiac, foliage, border, etc. Mod- elled by Hackwood. 1790. Wedg- wood, No. 19. H 62 (130) Coffee-can and Saucer. Green jas- per, fluted. Rehef of boys, etc. Can polished inside. 1790. Wedgwood, No. 19. 3 63 (134) Teapot. Solid blue jasper, granu- lated ground. Reliefs of children, etc., after Lady Templeton's designs, borders, reed and band ornaments, etc. Handle and spout white; figure of Cupid on cover. 1790. Height 8 inches. Wedgwood, No. 18. Sibson Collection. Illustrated in Meteyard's "Life," vol. ii, 488, and in Rathbone's "Old Wedgwood," Plate LXII. 64 (14s) Cream-Ewer. Solid lilac jasper. Re- liefs of boys chasing butterflies. Height 2^ inches. Wedgwood, No. 4- 65 (149) Sucrier and cover. Dark blue jas- per; bold floral wreath and medal- lion of Taurus, from the signs -of the Zodiac; borders, oak-leaves, etc. Wedgwood, No. 19. Stuart Collection. 66 (150) Circular Ecuelle, stand and cover. Solid, pale blue ; aquatic leafage, fes- toons of flowers, etc., lotus flower on cover. The bowl is polished by the lapidary. 6 by 3 inches. Wedgwood, No. 20. 3 67 (132) Paint-Box for water-colors. Oval, solid gray-blue jasper. Reliefs of boys hunting, etc. A lotus flower on cover. A palette and cups for colors inside. 1785. Wedgwood, No. 19. 68 (144) Salt-Cellars. Set of four: solid blue jasper; fluted festoons, borders, etc., in relief. Wedgwood, No. 20. 69 (146) Coffee-Can and Saucer. Blue ground. Reliefs of acanthus leafage and oak borders ; polished inside. Wedgwood, No. 20. 70 (147) Coffee-Can. Dark blue ground. Re- liefs of rams' heads, festoons, etc., and two cameos on lilac ground. Wedgwood, No. 20. 71 (152) Cylindrical Pedestal Inkstand. Red body. Relief of festoons, etc., in black. 1786. Wedgwood, No. 18. 72 (156) Teapot, Cream-Ewer, Sucrier, and Can and Saucer. Tri-color jasper; pink ground; fine cameo reliefs, in divisions ; graduated borders of green quatrefoils on blue and white squares, etc. Modelled by Hackwood, 1790. Wedgwood, No. 20. 7Z (157) Dejeuner Set. Pink jasper, fluted. Oval tray, teapot, sucrier, and two cups and saucers. Reliefs of chil- dren, etc. 1786. Wedgwood, No. 20. 3 73a (163) Cupid and Doves. A full-length fig- ure in white jasper on solid green pedestal, ornamented with reliefs of ram's heads, festoons, trophies, etc. 6J4 inches in height. Wedgwood, No. 19. Teapot— 63 (134) 74 (164) Cupid with Doves, and Hebe Feed- ing THE Eagle. A pair of rare jas- per figures on blue and white trophy bases — both of finest quality. 6^ inches high. Wedgwood, No. 18. Nos. 36 and 37 in Wedgwood's Catalogue, 1789. Anything in Wedgwood white jasper is rare. Speaking of another example, Profes- sor Church says: "In the actual piece the translucency of the paste adds a special charm to the colour effect. Very rarely we meet with examples of bowls, basins, chocolate, and teapots, and cups and saucers, fashioned whol- ly out of white jasper, or of white jasper dec- orated with dehcate applied reliefs in solid sage-green or solid lilac jasper. I recall three pieces of supreme excellence belonging to this group — all, alas ! destroyed in the Alexandra Palace fire of 1873. One was a covered sugar- bowl, another a teacup, the third a tumbler with sloping sides. The outside of each was adorned with amorini in high relief; the in- terior of each piece had been polished on the wheel — all three were of pure white jasper. The solid white jasper, with applied reliefs in solid sage-green and lilac jasper, is of rare occurrence; at least, very few of the extant pieces belong to the time of the first Josiah Wedgwood." 75 (168) Cybele WITH Cornucopia and a Lion. A fine figure in blue and white jasper. 13 inches high. 1790. Wedg- wood, No. 18. Cameos and Designs in Cut Steel Professor Church, in The Portfolio, mono- graph of Wedgwood (March, 1894), says of these productions : "So, also, one would like to see in a pubHc gallery illustrations of the way in which Wedgwood adapted his productions to the arts of the jeweller and the architect. His bas- reliefs, in various bodies, let into panelled walls, his suites of tablets for the friezes and jambs of mantelpieces, his large vases and busts for the tops of bookcases, and his wine- coolers for the sideboard, cannot be duly ap- preciated when dissociated from their intended surroundings and ranged in crowded ranks on the shelves of a cabinet. Nor can the artistic effect of Wedgwood's small and delicate jas- per cameos be properly seen when these choice gems are fixed in formal rows upon a museum tablet, instead of being framed in cut steel, in gold, in silver, or in ivory, or set in bonbon- nieres, tea-caddies, and patch-boxes. Our na- tional collections are therefore not inadequate merely on the score of incompleteness, but also by reason of their defective arrange- ment." 76 to 121 (182) A Case containing forty-seven objects, mounted in original steel frames by Boulton and Watt, and other Birmingham artists, and en- riched with gold, mother-of-pearl, enamel, etc., some specimens set with paste diamonds. Comprising buckles, medallions, and buttons with myth- ological subjects. "These are rare examples. These dainty pieces, often with polished edges and mount- iiigs of gold, have always been highly appre- ciated. They vary in size and shape, but were generally made in solid blue jasper, with fig- ures or portraits of white in low relief ; they sometimes are bordered with conventional de- signs, also in white. "Nothing has been said — for the limitations of space forbid the further extension — of watch-backs, ear-rings, opera-glass mounts, and a number of other minor objects of dec- oration or utility, for which Wedgwood em- ployed with success his beautiful jasper-paste. But it must not be forgotten that the master's works were of extraordinary variety both in material and in form. Not only was his solid jasper made to assume a great number of dif- ferent hues and tints, but large and important pieces were produced in solid Hlac and green jasper, as well as in blue. So likewise his terra-cotta bodies presented many hues and many degrees of hardness and density." Professor Church. 121 Oval Wedgwood Plaque, "Grief." White relief ; black ground ; lilac and white bor- der; metal frame. 122 Oval Wedgwood Plaque^ Venus and Cu- pid. Blue ground, metal frame. 123 Oval Wedgwood Plaque, Figure of Grief on grey ground ; metal frame. 124 Cut Steel Chatelaine with Wedgwood ornaments. A pair small Wedgwood ear- drops. 124A. 13 divers Intaglio seals. 125 Upright Oval Wedgwood Plaque, Cupid AND Swan on blue ground; rhinestone frame. 126 Upright Oval Wedgwood Plaque — Fig- ure OF Spring on blue ground; rhinestone frame. 127 Upright Oval Wedgwood Plaque — Fig- ure OF Peace. Pearl frame. 128 Two Upright Oval Wedgwood Plaques — Portrait of Pluto and Aristippus. Cut steel frames. 129 Small Portrait Plaque — Minerva on blue ground ; gilt wood frame. 130 Small Portrait Plaque of a Lady on black ground ; carved gilt frame. 131 Three Circular Portrait Plaques of Men — Blue ground; white relief and border; metal frames. T32 Two Small Portrait Plaques — "Augus- tus"' and "Vespasian." Black ground; metal frames. 133 Four Small Cameo Portraits. Metal frames. 134 Pair of Upright Oval Wedgwood Plaques. Framed as lockets. Blue ground; Mythological figures. 135 Circular Wedgwood Plaque — "Three Graces." Black ground; brilliant frame. 136 Oval Wedgwood Plaques. Five figures; black ground; metal frame. 137 Two Wedgwood Oval Figures— Peace and Venus on grey and lilac grounds; gold frames. 138 Small Oval Portrait Plaque— "Petro- NiA." Black ground; metal frame. 139 Small Round Portrait Plaque— "Roman Emperor." Blue ground. 140 Circular Plaque— Mythological Sub- ject. Blue ground; metal frame. 141 Circular Plaque— Tri-color— Cupid on a Lion. Lilac ground ; metal frame. 142 Circular Plaque— Four Warriors. Lilac ground ; metal frame. 143 Two Sexagonal PtAQUES— Tri-color. Brilliant frame. 144 Four Circular Tri-color Plaques. Bril- liant frames. 145 Pair Wedgwood Plaques. Blue ground; steel frame. 146 Pair Octagonal Wedgwood Plaques. Blue ground; cut steel frames. 147 Circular Tri-color Plaque — Three Fig- ures on blue ground ; metal frame. 148 Circular Wedgwood Plaque — Two Fig- ures AND Altar. Blue ground; brilliant frame. 149 Upright Oval Wedgwood Plaque — "Charioteer.'' Blue ground ; brilliant and metal frame. 150 Pair White Cameos — "Man and Wom- an." Gold frames. 151 Pair White Cameos as Lockets. Green and lilac grounds. 152 Nine Divers Cameo Portrait Plaques on blue ground. Eight with gold frames. 153 Small Ivory Circular Patch Box. In- laid Wedgwood plaque on cover. Three figures. 154 Oval Ivory Patch-Box. 155 Figure of Neptune Soliloquizing. 156 Circular Patch-Box. Marble; gold mounted, with octagonal Wedgwood plaque on cover. Chess Men 157 (183) A Glass Case containing a chess"- board with picturesquely modelled chess-men. The figures are thirty- two in number, twenty-four of which are in blue and white, seven in solid green jasper, with one extra figure of the Jester, modelled by Flaxman in 1785. One of the Queens repre- sents Mrs. Siddons in the character of Lady Macbeth. Both the Queen and the companion figure of the King are in white jasper. "Of these objects, excluding cameos, medal- lions, plaques, and vases, to which several preceding chapters have been devoted, the fa- mous chessmen designed by Flaxmen in 1785 demand prominent notice. The original draw- ing for the set is still at Etruria; for it Flax- man's charge was six guineas. In accord with the origin and character of the game, the style adopted by the artist for these fig- ures is distinctly medieval, and not classical. Many of the pieces, notably the king, queen, and bishop, are well adapted, by the simplicity of their contours, for the purpose for which they were intended. But their liability to break, and the difficulty experienced in hand- ling many of them, would alone suffice to prevent their use by chess-players. The two sides were made in olive-green and lilac, in black and white, and in blue and white. The old specimens form a beautiful suite of orna- ments for the cabinet; the modern replicas are rough in texture, and defective as to their minuter details and the modelling of the faces." Professor Church. Wedgwood, in his preface to the list of busts and figures in his catalogue of 1787, remarks : "Those who duly consider the influence of the fine arts on the human mind, will not think it a small benefit to the world to dif- fuse their productions as wide, and preserve them as long, as possible. The multiplying of copies of fine works, in beautiful and durable materials, must obviously have the same effect in respect to the arts, as the in- vention of printing has upon literature and the sciences : by their means the principal productions will be for ever preserved, and will effectually prevent the return of ignorant and barbarous ages. . . . Nor have the artists themselves anything to fear from this multi- plication of copies. Whatever awakens and keeps alive the attention of the public to the production of the arts, and nothing can be more effectual for that purpose than the dif- fusion of copies of fine works, must ultimate- ly be advantageous to the artist who is capa- ble of producing fine originals; for this gen- eral attention, in whatever country it is suf- ficiently excited, will always produce amateurs who, not contented with copies, which every one may procure, will be ambitious of pos- sessing fine originals, that copies from them may be multiplied and diffused, to the credit of the possessor, and the emolument as well as credit of the original artist." 158(169) Herodotus. Bust in white jasper, on pedestal. 35^ inches. Pedestal. Green jasper, in the form of a pillar ornamented with garlands of flowers and medallions, with rams' heads from which de- pend trophies of war, etc. Height 4 inches. 1790. Wedgwood, No. 19. 159(174) Bronze Figures. A pair: Vestal and Boy, and Venus and Cupid. Modelled by Clodion. On white mar- ble pedestals, with bronze and ormolu mounts. Each pedestal has a fine circular Wedgwood medallion in black jasper, white relief, of Venus and Cupid, and a Nymph and Boy, each in harmony with the bronze fig- ure above it. 16 inches high. French work of the Louis XVI period. 160 Bust of William Shakespeare, in black basalt, on pedestal. 11 inches high. 161 Sir Isaac Newton. Bust in black basalt, on pedestal. 7 inches in height. Flaxman's Monument to Wedgwood Parish Church of Stoke-on-Trent Since the printing of this catalogue, two items of the original Sanderson collection have been added, namely: — 163 and 164. TWO CYLINDRICAL BLUE AND WHITE FLOWER HOLDERS. Pillar form, ground fluted, octagonal plinths, with key border. Reliefs of boys playing "Blind Man's Buff." lyi inches. 1787. Wedgwood 19. Attention is called especially to the Wedgwood biographical mementos, and other interesting examples of old Wedgwood, in the Amelia Blanxius Collection, now on view in this Museum. i pi m :4 'f /'ti ^M