Wedgwood Collection still revealing new treasures a decade after it was saved for the nation | Heritage
[ad_1]
It is one of the most important industrial collections in the world, with more than 175,000 works of art, ceramics and photographs spanning two centuries of history.
The Wedgwood Collection was acquired for the nation from the charitable Art Fund and gifted to the Victoria and Albert Museum 10 years ago today, and researchers are still discovering new treasures in it, from China with royal connections to family memories. The fundraiser to purchase the archive is still the most successful ever run by the Art Fund.
Josiah Wedgwood founded a pottery company in 1759 which would become one of the largest and most famous producers of Staffordshire pottery. Designs, objects and manuscripts collected by the Wedgwood family span “the history from the Industrial Revolution to the present day”, said Catherine Jones, chief curator of the V&A Wedgwood Collection.
Recent finds in the collection include dinner plates salvaged from a ship that sank more than 100 years ago off the coast of Norway, a Queen Mary Dollhouse tea set and a first edition Portland vase bequeathed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, the British composer, died in 1958
Vaughan Williams was a member of the Wedgwood family, as was naturalist Charles Darwin. Another treasure from the archive is an Egyptian-style canopic vase – like those found with body parts in the tombs of pharaohs – that was made for Erasmus Darwin, Charles’s grandfather. Exhibition, Wedgwood and Darwin, celebrate the bond of familyis scheduled for February 2025.
The Wedgwood Collection has also purchased 60 contemporary Wedgwood works by contemporary artists for the V&A archive to mark the 10th anniversary. This includes the plate set, Harlem Toile de Jouy, by designer Sheila Bridges, which combines a traditional motif with the artist’s own experience as an African-American from New York, and a ceramic badge that reimagines Wedgwood’s abolitionist anti-slavery medallion by graphic designer Amy Sproston.
“I think it’s especially important because it’s very full,” Jones said. “We have the ceramics, the designs, the archive together – it also means a lot to people. Many people have a connection to Wedgwood, whether it’s through an interest in collecting or because their grandmother had a teapot. Everyone recognizes blue and white; it’s iconic.”
Wedgwood not only invented new ceramic materials such as jasper and black basalt, but was among the first manufacturers to stamp his name on his product.
“He was the father of modern marketing. Today we talk about influencers all the time, but he was a pioneer in this approach – he set his objects with famous people from the time of Queen Charlotte onwards.’
The archive is housed in The Wedgwood site in Stoke, where its namesake began his work as a potter in 1759, along with a working factory from the 1940s. The company still produces ceramics in the city known as the pottery capital of the world.
Jones said: “The Wedgwood name attracts people to the town. I think there is a narrative of industrial decline and it’s important to recognize that there are fewer people working in the industry than before, but there are things to be optimistic about. We can talk about the history and the impact it’s had and how the people in that field have shaped the company.”
after the promotion of the newsletter
The archive contains letters from female factory workers employed at Wedgwood during Josiah’s lifetime who describe visiting Parliament House to campaign for the abolition and end of slavery.
“He was very well connected through friendships and business success, but while he was busy building a wealthy clientele, he had radical ideas and his family was very involved in issues and campaigns. They were on the right side of history, if not on the side of popularity in their lifetime,” Jones said.
The curator said one of the reasons Wedgwood has endured as a brand is its collaboration with artists and designers.
“They had a great ability to work with the best artists and designers in every era. They understood that good design is the foundation of a successful product. You see this in every period from their work with George Stubbs to Eduardo Paolozzi.
“One of my favorite pieces was purchased by Karl Lagerfeld’s estate. This is an Art Deco, very glamorous coffee set designed by French designer Paul Follot. It is a perfect combination of modern design, monochrome and glossy. It speaks to a collector – Lagerfeld – but also to Wedgwood’s incredible ability to produce quality ceramics.”
Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, said: “The strength of the Wedgwood collection lies in its inspiration for today’s designers. Ten years ago, the V&A, the Art Fund and others came together to save the archive for the artists and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. That is why it is now so exciting to acquire the work of future ceramicists, to hold new exhibitions in Stoke on Trentand we’re taking a global tour of Wedgwood’s most iconic products.’
[ad_2]
