Rosso Antico sugar bowl by Josiah Wedgwood & Sons
Object No. 92/1257
This Rosso Antico (red stoneware) sucrier (sugar bowl and lid) with Black Basaltes decoration was made by Wedgwood and Sons at the Etruria Works, Staffordshire, in England, in about 1805. While porcelain continued to play an important role in fashionable interior decoration and daily life in Europe in the 1700s, it was Josiah Wedgwood's pottery that had the greatest impact. A leading Staffordshire potter in Burslem (now Stoke-on-Trent) since 1759, Wedgwood set up his highly efficient Etruria factory in 1769 to produce an impressive range of vases, ornaments and tableware. Trend-setting classical designs - often by noted artists - new materials and quality production appealed to his 'enlightened' clients. Wedgwood's bold and inventive marketing ensure the popularity of his wares, from royalty to what he called the 'common people'. Introduced after 1763, Rosso Antico was never a favourite material of Josiah Wedgwood. However, it was widely used in the early 1800s by his son, Josiah II, in such wares as vases, sugar bowls and casolettes. Influenced by the new Regency style, Egyptian motifs were added to the Neoclassical repertoire. The colour of Rosso Antico varied widely from the earlier rich deep-red to bright orange-red of later wares.
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Summary
Object Statement
Sucrier (sugar bowl and lid), 'Rosso Antico', stoneware, Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, Etruria Works, Staffordshire, England, c. 1805
Physical Description
A circular sugar bowl of red earthenware which is designed in Egyptian style with lug handles and a domed cover. The bowl is decorated around the rim with a geometric band of applied black basalt stoneware. The lid is surmounted by a knop in the form of a black basalt crocodile. The rim of the lid is bordered with a frieze of applied Egyptian (and pseudo Egyptian) motifs in black basalt. They include stylised hawk's wings, the god Horus in falcon form, two crocodiles, a canopic jar and the god Horus in griffon form. Adjacent to these motif there are a scattering of hieroglyphs (some real, some invented)
DIMENSIONS
Height
82 mm
Width
131 mm
Depth
110 mm
SOURCE
Credit Line
Purchased with funds donated by Australian Decorative And Fine Arts Society, 1992
Acquisition Date
6 July 1992
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