WEDGWOOD EGYPTIAN WARE  

                           

                                                                                            
                            
                Wedgwood interest in Egyptian art goes back to the days of the first Josiah. He had begun depicting Egyptian, as well as Greek and Roman themes, in Black Basalt in the early 1770s during his famous partnership with Thomas Bentley. Later in the decade however, Jasper, which had already proved ideal for the highly cut and polished classical designs, became the chosen medium for a range of ornamental sphinx, canopic vases, candlesticks and cameos on Egyptian subjects. Several of Josiah Wedgwood 1's late 18th Century Egyptian pieces can still be seen. They include a pair of black-dipped Jasper sphinx (Nottingham Castle Museum) and a solid, white, sphinx-shaped candlestick (Liverpool City Museum).   
   
                                                                                           

                Josiah Wedgwood 11 retained his father's interest in Egyptian ware and developed a second group of designs known as the hieroglyphic group. The Rosetta Stone, later to prove the major key to interpreting Egyptian hieroglyphics, had recently been discovered, so public interest ran high. This was also the age of Nelson and Bonaparte, andost fascinating piece of the period is a blue-dipped Jasper beaker, monogrammed HN and is almost certainly belonging to Nelson. Towards its base the beaker has a band of hieroglyphic and other Egyptian motifs.
                Manufacture of Egyptian ware by Wedgwood continued until 1810, since when there have been several revivals.

                                             
                            1978                              Dinner Plate  c 1940s                            1978
             
                                                                         
                                                      Examples from 1978 collection

                                                               

                                                              1979 Calendar plate
          

                                                               
         
            The influence from the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb continues to this day, with the production of the above ceramics from Compton & Woodhouse,Wedgwood, Stoke on Trent, England.On the left 'The Golden Casket of Tutankhamun' is "a recreation of Egyptian art featured on a lavishly decorated box. Traditional ceremonial symbols are interspersed with scenes of informal family life. The famous golden mask of the pharaoh is depicted in its familiar stunning jewel colours to bring good fortune whilst on either side we see affectionate images of Tutankhamun and his young wife Ankhesenamun, taken from such items such as thrones and friezes from the tomb. A mythical sphinx guards each corner, painted in black to reflect obsidian and jet with which they were usually portrayed and a lavish border of stylised lotus flowers enhances the base and the lid of the casket". 'The Wonders of the Nile' cup and saucer collection "depicts a scene from Egyptian history : the enigmatic boy king Tutankhamun in his famous gold mask, the legendary beauty of Queen Nefertiti, the drama of the Pharaoh's hunt - emblazoned in rich jewel colours against a background of gleaming gold". The Nefertiti figurine is one of a series of such figures, the others being Tutankhamun, Akhenaten, and Cleopatra. 

                                                         

           Modern figures, produced by Wedgwood, under the name Compton & Woodhouse

                           (Thanks to my friends George and Muriel for these images !)