Drawing for a chess set by John Flaxman Jnr. - 1785
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Drawing for a chess set by John Flaxman Jnr.
© Wedgwood Museum
Drawing for a chess set by John Flaxman Jnr. Pen and wash on lined paper. The first indication of a chess set being produced by Wedgwood occurs in a bill from Flaxman in London dated 30 october 1783 (ms: E2-1339): ‘A figure of a fool for chess £1: 5: 0’, implying that the subject has been modeled in wax. The figures of the Kings and Queens are traditionally said to portray Sarah Siddons and Philip Kemble in Shakespearian roles.
Drawing for a chess set by John Flaxman Jnr. Pen and wash on lined paper. The first indication of a chess set being produced by Wedgwood occurs in a bill from Flaxman in London dated 30 october 1783 (ms: E2-1339): ‘A figure of a fool for chess £1: 5: 0’, implying that the subject has been modeled in wax. On the same account but dated 1 December1784: ‘Three days imployed in drawing bas relief vases, chessmen etc. £3: 3: 0’. It seems probable however that the highly worked drawing in ‘Trompe L’oeil style was intended to be shown to potential customers, possibly at the London Showrooms, rather than as a working study and is the one cited on the same account, but dated 8 march 1785: ‘Drawing of chessmen, £6: 6: 0’. Wedgwood was obviously pleased with the set, as a reply from Flaxman indicates, dated 5 February 1784 (ms: E2-30188): ‘I return you many thanks, for the liberal praise you bestow on my chess figures’. By 20 February, progress in the production of the figures was reported to the artist: ‘We are getting forward with the chessmen and hope soon to send a complete set to Greek Street’ (ms: E2-30189) The pieces are mentioned in ‘The Oven Books’, a record of objects fired at Etruria from December 1783. The figures of the Kings and Queens are traditionally said to portray Sarah Siddons and Philip Kemble in Shakespearian roles.
- Type of object: Non-ceramic objects/drawing
- Mark: signed ‘J Flaxman’
- Year first produced: 1785
- Material: Paper
- Accession number: E2 - 1339
- Dimensions: 175 mm (height), 518 mm (length)
Related people
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John Flaxman Jnr RA
Modeller
John Flaxman Jnr RA - Modeller
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.
