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Papal Vase - 2003
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Papal Vase, photography M.Coupe
This vase is a copy of the one, which was presented to Pope John Paul II on 16th October 2003 on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee. The vase is decorated with white on blue jasper reliefs. The front of the vase features John Paul's coat of arms, which is intended to be an homage to the Christian mystery of Redemption. Every pope has his own coat of arms and this one shows a cross and the large capital 'M'. The letter 'M' beneath the cross represents the Virgin Mary under the cross, to whom he held strong devotion, and her exceptional participation in the Redemption. He even attributed the fact that he survived the attempted assassination on him in 1981 to the Virgin Mary. The coat of arms is surrounded by the papal tiara and two keys. The keys - in the coloured version they are silver and golden - are representing the power to bind and loose on earth (silver) and in heaven (golden). They are referring to St Matthew's gospel, chapter 16, verse 18-19: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." His strong Marian devotion is again referred to on the rear of the vase. It shows the Virgin as a mother cradling the Christ child. Both are depicted with halos around their heads. The vase is decorated with borders of acanthus and vine leaves and with laurel leaves. The golden lettering 'To Commemorate The Silver Jubilee of Pope John Paul II, 16 October 2003' is printed on the foot of the vase.
This vase is a copy of the one, which was presented to Pope John Paul II on 16th October 2003 on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee. The vase is decorated with white on blue jasper reliefs. The front of the vase features John Paul's coat of arms, which is intended to be an homage to the Christian mystery of Redemption. Every pope has his own coat of arms and this one shows a cross and the large capital 'M'. The letter 'M' beneath the cross represents the Virgin Mary under the cross, to whom he held strong devotion, and her exceptional participation in the Redemption. He even attributed the fact that he survived the attempted assassination on him in 1981 to the Virgin Mary. The coat of arms is surrounded by the papal tiara and two keys. The keys - in the coloured version they are silver and golden - are representing the power to bind and loose on earth (silver) and in heaven (golden). They are referring to St Matthew's gospel, chapter 16, verse 18-19: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." His strong Marian devotion is again referred to on the rear of the vase. It shows the Virgin as a mother cradling the Christ child. Both are depicted with halos around their heads. The vase is decorated with borders of acanthus and vine leaves and with laurel leaves. The golden lettering 'To Commemorate The Silver Jubilee of Pope John Paul II, 16 October 2003' is printed on the foot of the vase. The event of the presentation of the original vase by the Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, the Reverend Philip Pargeter, is documented in a photograph.
- Type of object: Ornamental ware/vase
- Mark: WEDGWOOD KP MADE IN ® 03 ENGLAND KD [Impressed] GD. [Painted in gold]
- Year first produced: 2003
- Body: Jasper
- Glaze: Unglazed
- Material: Ceramic
- Decoration: Ornamented
- Accession number: 12428 & 12428a
- Dimensions: 310 mm (height), 158 mm (width, handle to handle), 120 mm (depth)
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Related people
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Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II reigned as Pope of the Catholic church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16th October 1978 until his death on 2nd April 2005. With its 26 years and 168 days his pontificate was the second-longest documented in history. Only Pope Pius IX reigned longer. John Paul II was born in 1920 as Karol Jozef Wojtyla in the Polish town Wadowice. He was beatified by his successor Pope Benedict XVI on 1st May 2011. It is widely said that John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion and was most instrumental in ending communism in Poland and eventually the whole of Europe.
Glossary
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Jasper
Jasper
A fine-grained stoneware body developed by Josiah Wedgwood I in the mid 1770s, and the ceramic ware most associated with the name. The most famous colour combination known today is the traditional blue and white, which is usually decorated with classical bas reliefs.
With changes in architectural styles and the rise in popularity of neo-classical styles of interior decoration Josiah Wedgwood began a series of experiments to create a new ceramic material that would complement the new fashions. Thousands of meticulously recorded experiments were carried out to make a stoneware body that was capable of taking a mineral oxide stain throughout. The search for the jasper body absorbed much of Wedgwood's energy and time, the result being his most important contribution to ceramic history.
The majority of the actual trials were carried out between December 1772 and December 1774, Josiah writing on the 17 March of the latter year: ‘have for some time past been reviewing my experiments, & I find such Roots, such Seeds as would open & branch out wonderfully if I could nail myself down to the cultivation of them for a year or two'.
By January 1775 he was ‘absolute' in the production of jasper with coloured grounds. He was also in a position to advertise that he could manufacture bas reliefs, ranging from large plaques to small cameos for mounting as jewellery. The range of colours steadily increased, and by March 1776 Josiah was sending his first specimens of yellow to London. By September experiments were in hand for black jasper. Certainly by Spring of 1777 he was carrying out further experiments to perfect a surface ‘dip' to provide deeper coloured grounds for his cameos; and by the middle of December 1777, he was able to offer Bentley a choice of ‘Green - yellow - lalock [lilac] etc. to the colour of the rooms', referring to the tones favoured by their mutual acquaintance the architect Robert Adam.
