Made using the local clay known as ‘Carr’, blackfiring clays were produced by Wedgwood and its competitors in the Potteries in the 18th century. Josiah Wedgwood I named his ‘refined’ clay bodies such as black basalt and jasper in reference to the hard stones
or marbles they imitated. Like these luxurious materials, Wedgwood’s clays could be cut or polished to a high shine. Turning to both classical sources and contemporary designers, Wedgwood created an enormous range of inventive and fashionable neoclassical
designs, which were translated into clay by his company’s skilled modellers. Wedgwood’s refined black basalt body lent itself as well to modern, textural designs as it had to elaborate eighteenth-century forms.
Robert Minkin (1928–2012) joined Wedgwood in 1955 after graduating from the Royal College of Art, and became design director in 1979. He created many distinctive pieces, including new black-basalt shapes for the renowned ‘Design 63’ exhibition, along with Peter Wall (1926–2018). Keith Murray also created a number of designs with engine-turned decoration that were produced in black basalt.