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Vase
Elizabeth Upton, born 1747 - died 1823 - Enlarge image
Vase
- Place of origin:
Etruria, England (made)
- Date:
1790-1800 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Elizabeth Upton, born 1747 - died 1823 (designer)
Wedgwood (maker) - Materials and Techniques:
Earthenware
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by Herbert Allen
- Museum number:
C.799-1935
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 118d, case 2
Object Type
The vase is a purely decorative one. It was probably intended for display in a private library or other domestic interior. It was made at a time when vases were enormously popular. The Staffordshire potter Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) and his competitors exploited and promoted this fashion, Wedgwood in 1769 boasting of his intention of becoming 'Vase Maker General to the Universe'.
Design & Designing
The figure composition was originally made in 'cut Indian paper' by Elizabeth, Lady Templetown (1747-1823), an amateur artist. Wedgwood reproduced 14 reliefs after her designs, and acknowledged her 'exquisite taste' and 'charming groups' in the 1787 catalogue of his ornamental wares. He probably asked her for designs in the hope that they would appeal to female taste. Wedgwood first made snake-handled vases of this shape in blue Jasper stoneware around 1786. He was clearly pleased with the Jasper versions, as he illustrated one in the English and French editions of his catalogue of ornamental wares of 1787 and 1788. These Jasper versions generally have reliefs of 'Venus in her Chariot', not the figure scenes seen here.
