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Portland Vase
Josiah Wedgwoodca. 1790 (made) - 1794
The Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
Details
- Title: Portland Vase
- Date Created: ca. 1790 (made) - 1794
- Location Created: Etruria, Etruria Stoke-on-Trent
- Type: Vase
- Rights: Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street
- External Link: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O8066
- manufacturer: Josiah Wedgwood and Sons
- Place Part Of: Etruria Stoke-on-Trent
- More Information: Object Type The original Portland Vase was made of cameo glass and dated from about 30-20 BC. The Wedgwood copies were produced in a 'first edition' of about 50, potted during Wedgwood's lifetime. This example comes from that series. The Portland Vases are generally held to be among the greatest of Wedgwood's achievements. He died shortly after this triumph, in 1795. Materials & Making Although Wedgwood had borrowed the original vase as early as June 1786, it was not until October 1789 that he succeeded in making the first good copies. Difficulties with the Jasper body ranged from cracking and blistering (clearly visible here) to 'lifting' of the reliefs during firing. In 1786 he feared that the Jasper reliefs could never be applied thinly enough to match the subtlety and delicacy of theglass originals. On some 'first edition' vases, including this one, the effect was achieved by a combination of undercutting and shading the reliefs in grey.Use Wedgwood made the copies to demonstrate his technical skill. They were shown privately between April and May 1790 and the exhibition was so popular that restrictions on the number of visitors were necessary. To this end only 1,900 tickets were printed. One such ticket, illustrated by Samuel Alkin and printed with 'Admission to see Mr. Wedgwood's copy of The Portland Vase, Greek Street, Soho, between 12 o'clock and 5', was bound into the Wedgwood catalogue on view in the British Galleries (museum no. 22.12.71). Later the vases were exhibited in Wedgwood's London showrooms. They would have been admired and displayed by connoisseurs and collectors as works of art.
- Materials and Techniques: Blue-black Jasper, with applied and hand-finished reliefs
- Dimensions: Height: 25.4 cm, Width: 18.73 cm
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