. Staffordshire pottery and its history . sting. A good border patternis the most suitable decoration for a dinner plate. Having got his staff of enamellers together,Wedgwood decided to do his own enamelling infuture instead of sending his ware to the War-burtons to be enamelled.* The sober borderdecorations of his tea and dinner ware, which isto some tastes the very best part of his work, weredone at Chelsea by these artists. His most success-ful patterns are mere enamelled borders, perfectlyenamelled on perfectly potted plates. But this was useful ware, and all the timehe was aiming at the d
. Staffordshire pottery and its history . sting. A good border patternis the most suitable decoration for a dinner plate. Having got his staff of enamellers together,Wedgwood decided to do his own enamelling infuture instead of sending his ware to the War-burtons to be enamelled.* The sober borderdecorations of his tea and dinner ware, which isto some tastes the very best part of his work, weredone at Chelsea by these artists. His most success-ful patterns are mere enamelled borders, perfectlyenamelled on perfectly potted plates. But this was useful ware, and all the timehe was aiming at the development of his orna-mental ware along classical lines. The blackbasalt—plain; the black basalt—decorated withencaustic red paintings unglazed, after the mannerof the Etruscans; the jasper vases and plaques; allare attempts to reproduce the survivals of Greeceand Rome. This neo-classic style, if not original,was at least a change from the endless rococo ofDresden, and the shepherdesses of Chelsea and *Meteyard, op. cit., n, HACKWOOD, THE MODELLER To face p. 103 WEDGWOOD & THE CREAM COLOUR Sevres; and, compared with the art china pro-ductions of the first half of the nineteenth century,the copies of even decadent Rome seem to be theacme of good taste. One is also tempted to regretthat in them the whole art of the potter is de-voted to the most exact reproduction of bronze,of Parian marble, of natural cameos, or even of theglassy Barberini Vase. The reproduction is splen-did, and probably nothing would have shockedWedgwood more than to think that posteritycould prefer his lavender tea service, or the vinepattern on his Queens Ware. It is however undoubtedly on his jasper thathis fame with succeeding generations has beenbased:—the white classical figures, designed byFlaxman or by Hackwood, embossed on a blueor black ground. The discovery of the jasper body,with its admixture of barium sulphate, gave hima perfectly white hard stoneware body, whichwould take a high
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectwedgwoo, bookyear1913
