Bust of Josiah Wedgwood I - 1940
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Bust of Josiah Wedgwood I
© Wedgwood Museum
Inspired by the white marble monument to Josiah Wedgwood I carved by John Flaxman Junior, which can be seen in the Church of St. Peter and Vincula, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.This bust was modelled for reproduction in Black Basalt by Arnold Austin, chief modeller at Etruria from around 1904-1947.
Inspired by the white marble monument to Josiah Wedgwood I carved by John Flaxman Junior,which can be seen in the church of St.Peter and Vincula,Stoke-on-Trent,Staffordshire. This bust was modelled for reproduction in Black Basalt by Arnold Austin,chief modeller at Etruria from around 1904 - 1947
- Type of object: Portraits and figures/library bust
- Mark: WEDGWOOD MADE IN ENGLAND (Impressed)
- Year first produced: 1940
- Body: Black basalt
- Glaze: Clear glaze
- Material: Ceramic
- Accession number: 9456
- Dimensions: 394 mm (height)
Related people
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John Flaxman Jnr RA
Associated
John Flaxman Jnr RA - Associated
English sculptor, and designer, born in York, the son of a modeller and maker of plaster casts. The family moved to Covent Garden, London in 1756. In 1766 at the age of 11 Flaxman Jnr won a premium from the Society of Arts, now the Royal Society of Arts, enrolling three years later as one of the first students of the newly founded Royal Academy Schools. He exhibited for the first time at the Academy in 1770, and had come to the attention of the founder of the Wedgwood company, Josiah I himself, in 1771. By 1775 Flaxman Jnr had commenced to provide models and designs to the Wedgwood factory. Flaxman at Wedgwood’s behest went to Rome in 1787, where he remained, studying classical architecture and arts until 1794. During this period Flaxman supplied many important designs to Wedgwood. Amongst these can be numbered the famous ‘Apotheosis of Homer’ relief and vase; ‘Hercules in the Garden of Hesperides’; various bust subjects including Mercury, as well as the Josiah Wedgwood memorial in St Peter ad Vincula, Stoke-on-Trent’s parish church. Flaxman also supplied a huge range of portrait medallions and smaller sized bas reliefs for use by the firm.
Glossary
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Black basalt
Black basalt
A fine-grained black stoneware body, composed of ball clay, calcined ochre and manganese oxide. Josiah Wedgwood developed black basalt in 1768 to replace the earlier ‘black Egyptian’ ware produced in Staffordshire in the mid-eighteenth century.
Basalt was described by Josiah Wedgwood as ‘A fine black Porcelain, having nearly the same properties as the Basaltes i.e., the mineral rock', resisting the Attack of Acids; being a Touch-stone to Copper, Silver and Gold, and equal in Hardness to Agate or Porphyry'. It was the result of his experiments to perfect fine-grained stoneware suitable for the production of ornamental pieces, one that would complement the neo-classical styles then coming into vogue. It is probable that Wedgwood was experimenting with a basalt body in September 1767. He wrote to Bentley, ‘I am still going on with my tryals, & want much to shew you some of them'. Certainly within 12 months Basalt was generally available. From 1773 Wedgwood's plain-black body became universally known as ‘basaltes'. Both ornamental and useful wares were produced in this versatile body and it was used to make virtually anything the public required. Wedgwood placed great confidence in his material, predicting that ‘Black is Sterling and will last for ever'.
Black clay was derived from ‘Carr', an oxide of iron suspended in the water that had flowed through coal seams and mines. This was drained and dried and then sold by the cartload to potters for use in the production of basalt pottery. Wedgwood made no secret of his recipe for Basalt, which he recorded on page 236 of ‘Common Place Book I. The entry is dated 1777, and reads:
‘Our Black Basalt Body. 80 of ball clay sifted 80 of Carr [ochre] calcined & ground 9 of manganese. The above is one Blending.'
When these ingredients were fired together at a high temperature they vitrified into a fine-textured black body. The distinctive colour of Wedgwood's basalt, which has a deep purplish-black hue, is due to the high proportion of manganese included in the formula.
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Lunar Society of Birmingham
Lunar Society of Birmingham
The Lunar Society of Birmingham was an informal learned society of intellectuals who were playing a significant role in the Midlands Enlightenment. Though opinions about the number and status of members vary, there are some that can be considered to have played an integral role in the Lunar Society of the eighteenth century regarding their participation in the Society's meetings: Matthew Boulton, Erasmus Darwin, Thomas Day, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Samuel Galton Jr., James Keir, Joseph Priestley, William Small, Jonathan Stokes, James Watt, Josiah Wedgwood, John Whitehurst and William Withering.
The roots of the Lunar Society, or Lunar Circle as it was called first, lie in the early 1750s and it emerged from friendships between some of the mentioned scientists especially Matthew Boulton and Erasmus Darwin. The Lunar Society received its name because its members used to meet during the full moon so the extra light could provide a safe journey home late at night. In a time when communication and exchange of knowledge was limited, these meetings were used to discuss the member's latest insights and research results and to learn from and be inspired by the other members. The Society used to meet in Erasmus Darwin's house in Lichfield, Matthew Boulton's home Soho House, and Great Barr Hall.
