Seeing objects with the following criteria:
Remove filter
Remove filter
This undeniably Turkish hookah was translated into Wedgwood’s characteristic jasper as early as 1800. Some 27 years before Josiah I was already considering the creation of Turkish inspired objects. In this instance the form and function of this object are unquestionably exotic, while the jasper body and decoration with bas reliefs is undeniably English. Coupled with the object’s rarity this makes the hookah especially interesting.
As early as 1773 Wedgwood & Bentley’s ornamental ware partnership planned their first attempt on the Turkish market when Josiah I mentioned that he was - ‘…setting our people at the ornamental works of making a few of each of the Turkish articles.’ The bell shaped hookah form in Wedgwood’s traditional jasper first makes an appearance in the oven book records in March/April 1800. This particular example appears as number 497 in the Shape Number One book. The bell structure consists of white Jasper while the exterior has received a mid-blue dip. The white bas reliefs include ‘Acanthus and Bell’, traditional ‘oak and acorn’, and the classical ‘Arabesque Scroll’ and combine to give the hookah a readily identifiable Wedgwood feel which can seem slightly at odds with the object’s exotic origins.
