Portrait Medallion thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 118; The Wolfson Gallery

Portrait Medallion

late 18th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
Portrait medallions had long been made in metal, and were popular in wax and ivory in mid-18th century England. Wedgwood, however, was the first person to manufacture them in stoneware on a commercial scale.

This medallion of Wedgwood's bricklayer Edward Bourne was presumably made for purely personal reasons not for commercial production. It was probably intended to be hung on a wall in a wood or brass frame or stored in a cabinet.

People
Edward Bourne was the bricklayer at Wedgwood's factory. He would have been responsible for maintaining the brickwork of the factory kilns.

Materials & Making
This medallion is made of Black Basalt, one of several types of pottery that Wedgwood introduced or refined. Black Basalt was the result of a series of experiments to perfect a fine-grained stoneware suitable for the production of ornamental pieces, one that would complement the Neo-classical styles then coming into vogue. The black colour came from 'Carr', an oxide of iron suspended in water that had flowed through coal seams and mines. This was drained and dried and then sold by the cart-load to potters for use in the production of Basalt pottery.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Black Basalt ware
Brief description
Plaque, unglazed black stoneware, with bust portrait of E. Bourne in relief. English, Staffordshire, Etruria, Wedgwood's factory, c.1780.
Physical description
Portrait medallion of Edward Bourne, bricklayer at Etruria
Dimensions
  • Height: 6.98cm
  • Width: 5.71cm
Gallery label
British Galleries: It is not known why Wedgwood made this portrait of his bricklayer. William Hackwood, who signed it, supplied many of the reliefs for Wedgwood's Jasper and Black Basalt wares. He adapted other artists' work and modelled low reliefs of subjects taken from prints, making them suitable for Wedgwood's production methods.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
J. A. Tulk Bequest
Object history
Modelled in 1778 by William Hackwood (active 1769, died in 1839)
Made at Josiah Wedgwood's factory at Etruria, Staffordshire
Production
First issued in 1779
Subject depicted
Summary
Object Type
Portrait medallions had long been made in metal, and were popular in wax and ivory in mid-18th century England. Wedgwood, however, was the first person to manufacture them in stoneware on a commercial scale.

This medallion of Wedgwood's bricklayer Edward Bourne was presumably made for purely personal reasons not for commercial production. It was probably intended to be hung on a wall in a wood or brass frame or stored in a cabinet.

People
Edward Bourne was the bricklayer at Wedgwood's factory. He would have been responsible for maintaining the brickwork of the factory kilns.

Materials & Making
This medallion is made of Black Basalt, one of several types of pottery that Wedgwood introduced or refined. Black Basalt was the result of a series of experiments to perfect a fine-grained stoneware suitable for the production of ornamental pieces, one that would complement the Neo-classical styles then coming into vogue. The black colour came from 'Carr', an oxide of iron suspended in water that had flowed through coal seams and mines. This was drained and dried and then sold by the cart-load to potters for use in the production of Basalt pottery.
Collection
Accession number
C.117-1956

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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