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Vase

Vase

  • Place of origin:

    Etruria, England (made)

  • Date:

    1786-1795 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Wedgwood (maker)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    White Jasper with blue wash

  • Museum number:

    1519-1855

  • Gallery location:

    British Galleries, room 118e, case 3

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Object Type
Vases of this type are described as 'Ruined Vases' in the Wedgwood documents. They might have been used for holding wooden spills (splints of wood for lighting candles) or flowers. Alternatively, they may have been purely decorative and displayed on chimney-pieces or furniture in domestic interiors.

Materials & Making
Jasper is a very fine-grained white stoneware that could be stained in a range of colours. Josiah Wedgwood developed this material in the early 1770s in response to the rise in popularity of Neo-classical styles of interior decoration. Antique reliefs set against coloured backgrounds played an important part in Neo-classical interiors.In the development of Jaspar Wedgwood made thousands of meticulously documented experiments. The ware became his greatest invention and is what he is most widely remembered for today. This vase is made of white Jasper and stained with cobalt blue, which was painted on with a brush. The best cobalt blue was imported from Saxony, Germany.

Trading
'Ruined Vases' were sold for 15 shillings from Wedgwood's Staffordshire factory site in 1787.

Place of Origin

Etruria, England (made)

Date

1786-1795 (made)

Artist/maker

Wedgwood (maker)

Materials and Techniques

White Jasper with blue wash

Dimensions

Height: 19.68 cm, Width: 11.43 cm

Object history note

Made at Josiah Wedgwood's factory, Etruria, Staffordshire. The contemporary cost of vases of this type is recorded in a document of 1786 as "Ruin'd Vase 15/-, Single Column 31/-, Double Column 42/-, Triple 63/-".

Descriptive line

Ruin vase

Labels and date

British Galleries:
RUIN VASES

Many of Wedgwood's ornamental productions were intended to be appreciated as small-scale works of art. Most of his vases have clean outlines taken from prints or Roman antiquities, and must have looked emphatically modern to their original owners. However, with these vases Wedgwood presents a more time-worn version of antiquity. [27/03/2003]
Vase in the form of a ruined column
Made at the factory of Josiah Wedgwood, Etruria, Staffordshire, about 1786-95
Marks: 'WEDGWOOD' and two lozenges
Jasperware

1519-1855

The contemporary cost of vases of this type is recorded in a document of 1786 as "Ruin'd Vase 15/-, Single Column 31/-, Double Column 42/-, Triple 63/-" [23/05/2008]

Categories

Ceramics; Vases

Collection code

CER

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Qr_O77427
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