The Wedgwood Museum

From 1812, before the invention of friction matches, Wedgwood’s travelling salesmen took orders for ‘instantaneous light devices’ known as pyrophorus vases. The principal ingredients of these ‘instant light-boxes’ were a sliver of wood, topped with a compound of potash and sugar. A small glass bottle containing sulphuric acid was also provided. When the sliver of wood was dipped into the acid and then exposed to the air, sufficient heat was generated by the chemical reaction that had taken place to immediately ignite it.Wedgwood was probably the first ceramic manufacturer to produce pyrophorus vases as decorative objects - adapting them from existing inkwell shapes. An examination of factory records indicate that about forty forms of vase were used – but it is possible that not every shape went into commercial production. Pyrophorus vases were produced in many traditional Wedgwood ceramic bodies including rosso antico and black basalt. This example is in a biscuit earthenware, and is one of the many objects in the Wedgwood Museum’s collections that were ‘found on the works’. It may have been a model kept on someone’s workbench as an aid to decoration.The demand for pyrophorus vases gradually diminished as the novelty subsided, and following the introduction of friction matches the purpose of these small objects was soon forgotten. Indeed it could be said that their existence was something of a ‘flash in the pan’.

• Type of object: Useful ware/smoking set
• Year first produced: 1812
• Body: Queen's ware and cream-coloured earthenware
• Material: Ceramic
• Accession number: 1788
• Dimensions: 89 mm (height)