Wedgwood: An introduction
Wedgwood: An introduction
Learn about the history of Wedgwood and how the company evolved through three centuries of design
Staffordshire potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood (1730 – 95) was a pioneering tastemaker, marketeer and social campaigner. In 1759, Josiah founded his ceramics company which achieved global success and remains in production today. Designs and wares saved by the factory and Wedgwood family grew into one of the most important industrial collections in the world. Comprising over 175,000 works of art, ceramics, manuscripts and photographs, the V&A Wedgwood Collection documents production up to the present day, showcasing innovations in taste and fashion spanning over 260 years.
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Learn about the history of Wedgwood and how the company evolved through three centuries of design
The Wedgwood anti-slavery medallion
Discover more about Wedgwood's anti-slavery medallion – a forerunner of the protest badge
Wedgwood's ceramic manufacturing archive
Discover "one of the most complete ceramic manufacturing archives in existence"
'Campanula' tea and coffee set by Paul Follot for Wedgwood
Discover a rare art deco tea and coffee set designed by Paul Follot for Wedgwood once belonging to Karl Lagerfeld
Josiah Wedgwood's Portland Vase
Find out more about the Portland Vase – one of Wedgwood's most well-known ceramic designs
Poor Maria and the Bourbonnais Shepherd – when literature came into fashion
Find out how books have inspired jewellery