"Porphyry" Vase and cover
Wedgwood and Bentley British
Classical antiquity became accessible and affordable to middle class English consumers in the eighteenth century, thanks to the firm of Josiah Wedgwood (1730–95) and his partner Thomas Bentley (1730–80). Decorative ceramic vessels such as this vase imitated designs inspired by classical antiquity, found in print sources such as Jacques Stella’s Livre de Vases. New decorative finishes and glazing techniques catered to the demands for novelty. The mottled greenish glaze covering the creamware body of this vase imitates the speckled effects of porphyry, an expensive carved hardstone found only in the households of the wealthy English patrons.
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