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拍品專文
This pair of Wedgwood black basalt relief plaques are among a small number of surviving examples from Wedgwood’s famed Herculaneum Pictures, a series of fourteen large circular and oval plaques that were inspired by Roman wall-paintings at Herculaneum and Pompeii. This rare pair are thought to be the only surviving examples from the series where the frames are decorated with original 18th century gilding. It is thought that the plaques have been in Italy since the 18th century (according to the present owner), and that the inventory numbers on the reverse suggest a princely collection (the gilded frames, which were very expensive to produce, point to this as being probable). It has been suggested that the plaques may have been in the collection of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, but no archival documentation has yet been found to support this.
Whilst single plaques from the series are known, it is very unusual to find a pair that appear to have remained together since the time of their manufacture, and furthermore have gilded frames. These highly sculptural plaques represent Wedgwood’s engagement with the neo-classical style at its most successful and display a superb level of craftsmanship, unequalled by his competitors in the field of ceramic art and combining in basalt Wedgwood's passion, skill, his innovations and inventiveness.
The series was conceived shortly after Josiah Wedgwood (1730-95) and Thomas Bentley (1730-80) formally agreed their business partnership in 1769. It was an immensely successful partnership characterised by Wedgwood’s inventiveness and deep technical understanding of the art of pottery, and by Bentley’s considerable knowledge of classical and renaissance art and commercial experience. These plaques epitomise not only Wedgwood and Bentley’s fascination with the ‘Antique’ world, but also their engagement with contemporary architects and their deep understanding of changing tastes and market trends in contemporary decorative arts.
The fashion for the ‘Antique’ gained huge traction in England after the re-discovery and excavations of Herculaneum in 1738 and Pompeii in 1748. The new aesthetic provided a strong contrast to the extravagances of the late Baroque and Rococo designs that dominated decorative arts in the first half of the 18th century and it was perceived as elegant, academic and 'pure'. The ‘Antique’ taste continued in favour throughout the second half of the 18th century and into the 19th century and Italy became a hugely popular destination for the wealthy to include in a ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe (1). Wedgwood and Bentley were quick to realise the commercial possibilities of this new movement.
Wedgwood’s fourteen Herculaneum Pictures were moulded from a group of plaster bas-reliefs brought to England by William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (1737-1805), thirteen of which were inspired by frescoes from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The frescoes that provide the source for the subjects of Polyphemus and Cupid and Marsyas and the young Olympus, depicted on the present pair of plaques, are now preserved in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples (2). Lord Lansdowne, an enthusiastic and esteemed patron of Wedgwood, allowed moulds to be made of his bas-reliefs for reproduction at the Wedgwood Etruria factory. It appears that the moulds were executed by Hoskins & Oliver in 1770 (3); certainly they were in production in black basalt by the following year as Josiah wrote to Bentley early in 1771 that ‘he was finishing some frames for the Herculaneum, & other Basreliefs’. The series are subsequently listed in the Wedgwood & Bentley Catalogues of 1773-79 and 1787, nos. 51-65, described as ‘Figures from paintings in the ruins of Herculaneum; the models brought over by the marquis of Lansdown’ (4), with Polyphemus and Cupid on a dolphin recorded in the Catalogue as no. 60 and Marsyas and Young Olympus as no. 61.
In addition to Lord Lansdowne’s bas-reliefs, Wedgwood used a series of engravings for reference, which originally appeared in Le antichitá di Ercolano esposte (published by the royal printing press in Naples between 1755 and 1792, at the request of the Bourbon King of Naples Charles VII, (who became King Charles III of Spain in 1759). Charles III guarded the finds from the ancient cities closely and the distribution of copies of Le antichitá di Ercolano esposte was initially limited to friends and acquaintances of the King. However, by 1770 the Wedgwood firm owned six volumes. These were a hugely important source for the Wedgwood artists, as Bentley wrote ‘[We] must acknowledge the work to be of immense value, considering the variety and importance of its contents; and we hope to see the effects of this vast harvest of antiquities, in the improvement of all the arts that depend upon design’ (5). Shortly after the publication of Le antichitá di Ercolano esposte, several unauthorized and affordable versions appeared in a variety of languages, allowing a much broader audience access to images of the newly discovered art of the ancient cities. One of the most popular versions was published in England in 1773 by Thomas Martyn and John Lettice, The Antiquities of Herculaneum. Wedgwood is among the list of subscribers to this publication, which includes engravings after the original frescoes of Polyphemus and Cupid and Marsyas and Young Olympus (plates IX and X).
The Herculaneum Pictures appear to have been produced initially in both black basalt and in white terracotta (6), and from 1778 in jasperware. Black basalt was used extensively by Wedgwood as he sought to re-create the antique 'look'. Whilst 'Egyptian Black' wares were already in production elsewhere in Staffordshire, Wedgwood sought to improve on these wares with his own recipe, carrying out countless experiments from as early as 1766. Initially he experimented with local clay mixed with carr, an oxide derived from iron residue taken from the local coal mines. However, after extensive trials, he found that by taking greater care to purify the local carr, and using magnesium to create a richer black colour and west-country clay for a finer texture he was able to create a far superior basalt body. These wares could then either be painted using the encaustic painting technique, or as is the case with the present examples, polished with leather and then finished to simulate bronze. These pieces were made to imitate the antique pottery being excavated in Herculaneum and Pompeii, and also magnificent bronzes, the likes of which he may have seen firsthand from the collections of friends such as Lord William Hamilton (1730-1803), who served as the Ambassador to the court of Naples from 1764-1800. Josiah was so delighted with the results of his newly invented polishing technique, that in 1769 he took out a patent for it.
Large plaques or tablets were a particular passion for Josiah Wedgwood, who described them as ‘the nicest branch of our business’, despite the fact they were time consuming to produce, taking as long as five or six weeks in ‘drying and burning’ (7). Larger examples such as the Herculaneum Pictures were originally intended for the decoration of the grand halls, libraries and staircases of villas and palaces across Britain and Europe, complimenting the architecture of the new neo-classical buildings. Wedgwood had a strong working relationship with several prominent architects of his day, including Robert Adam, James Wyatt and Henry Holland, persuading them to include his plaques into various aspects of their designs. In a letter to Bentley on 7th September 1771 Wedgwood wrote of Robert Adam: ‘Adam is a Man of Genius & invention & an excellent Architect & Mr. Truman assured me that he knew Mr. Adam’s [sic] kept modellers at Rome employed in copying Bas-reliefs and other things for them a connection with them would be of great use to us’ (8).
Whilst the Herculaneum Pictures were often intended for architectural ornamentation, they were also designed to stand alone. Integral frames, made in ceramic with the plaques, proved an economical way of enhancing the subject matter. The frames started as simple mouldings, but by 1771 Wedgwood was experimenting with more decorative shapes. However, this proved to be more difficult to achieve than Wedgwood expected and he wrote to Bentley in March of that year: ‘We have sent you one Feast of the Gods fram’d, & shall be glad of your opinion of the Frame... We have try’d a great variety of combinations for frames, & have found it a much more difficult matter than I expected to make them tolerably handsome, & convenient for moulding, burning…’ (9) Concerned that the plain frames were unattractive, Wedgwood soon arranged for them to be painted or gilded. The gilding was evidently executed in London and not the Etruria factory as Wedgwood wrote to Bentley that the workers make ‘such sad work of it at Etruria’ (10). However, by 1776 Wedgwood records that the metalworker Matthew Boulton of Birmingham was making gilt frames suitable for this series of plaques for fifteen shillings each. It is likely therefore that these plaques, with gilded integral frames, were made prior to this date and are among very few surviving examples of plaques with this feature.
Examples of the Herculaneum Pictures can be found in the collections of The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Polyphemus and Cupid, museum nos. 279-1866 and Female centaur and bacchante, museum no. 280-1866, both in white terracotta), The Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, USA (Female centaur and bacchante, museum nos. AFI.1753.2008 and Centaur and Achilles, museum no. AFI.1754.2008, both in black basalt with encaustic painting) and The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, USA (Female centaur and bacchante, museum no. 2013.16.9 in black basalt). An example of the model showing Marsyas and a Young Olympus (the frame ungilded) was sold in these Rooms, 6 December 1976, lot 200.
(1) Rome and Naples were particularly popular destinations. Rome became a place in which artists, collectors and intellectuals could meet and exchange ideas and admire new archaeological discoveries. Piranesi’s publications of views of Rome in the 1740s and Robert Adam’s Ruins of the Palace of Diocletian at Spalato, published in 1764, were widely disseminated, which both popularised classical architecture and lead to a reappraisal of ancient civilisations.
(2) Polyphemus and Cupid, discovered in Pompeii (museum no. 8984), Marsyas and the young Olympus, discovered in Herculaneum museum no. 9151).
(3) See Robin Reilly, Wedgwood, 1989, London, Vol. I, p. 484. Whilst the specific modeller of this pair of plaques is not confirmed, the early biographer of Josiah Wedgwood, Eliza Meteyard attributes both models to the sculptor John Bacon (1740-1799), who took on commissions for Wedgwood from 1769, see Eliza Meteyard, The Life of Josiah Wedgwood, 1866, London, Vol. II, p. 136. See also Alison Kelly, Decorative Wedgwood in Architecture and Furniture, 1965, London, p. 25 where Kelly furthers this attribution by stating that they 'may well be by his hand. They have a fantasy and a sense of fun not often found among the more seriously classical designs of Flaxman'. However, Kelly also suggests (ibid., 1965, London, p. 23) that these moulds could have been made by Hoskins and Oliver who sent Wedgwood an invoice in 1770 for 'Making Moulds upon 16 Basso relieves'. The fact that this invoice was for sixteen moulds, not fourteen, the known number of Herculaneum Pictures, perhaps makes this attribution uncertain.
(4) See Robin Reilly, ibid., 1989, London, Vol. II, pp. 729-730 where the full entry in the Wedgwood & Bentley Catalogues for the series is reproduced as follows; nos. 51-56 Dancing Nymphs, nos. 57-9 Centaurs, no. 60 Polyphemus, no. 61 Marsyas and Young Olympus, no. 62 Papyrius and His Mother, no. 64 A Bacchanalian Figure and no. 65 Bacchanalian figure. Number 63 is omitted from the Catalogues.
(5) See the essay by Nancy Ramage, ‘Flying Maenads and Cupids: Pompeii, Herculaneum and 18th Century Decorative Arts’, in Carol Mauttsch, Rediscovering the Ancient World on the Bay of Naples, 1710-1890, 2013, Washington, p. 169 for the quotation and further discussion of the influence of Le antichitá di Ercolano esposte on contemporary decorative arts.
(6) A white terracotta example of Polyphemus and Cupid is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum no. 280-1866).
(7) See Robin Reilly, ibid., 1989, London, Vol. I, p.487.
(8) See Diana Edwards, Black Basalt, Wedgwood and Contemporary Manufacturers, Suffolk, 1994, p. 39.
(9) See Robin Reilly, ibid., 1989, London, Vol. I, p.485.
(10) See Robin Reilly, ibid., 1989, London, Vol. I, p.485.
Whilst single plaques from the series are known, it is very unusual to find a pair that appear to have remained together since the time of their manufacture, and furthermore have gilded frames. These highly sculptural plaques represent Wedgwood’s engagement with the neo-classical style at its most successful and display a superb level of craftsmanship, unequalled by his competitors in the field of ceramic art and combining in basalt Wedgwood's passion, skill, his innovations and inventiveness.
The series was conceived shortly after Josiah Wedgwood (1730-95) and Thomas Bentley (1730-80) formally agreed their business partnership in 1769. It was an immensely successful partnership characterised by Wedgwood’s inventiveness and deep technical understanding of the art of pottery, and by Bentley’s considerable knowledge of classical and renaissance art and commercial experience. These plaques epitomise not only Wedgwood and Bentley’s fascination with the ‘Antique’ world, but also their engagement with contemporary architects and their deep understanding of changing tastes and market trends in contemporary decorative arts.
The fashion for the ‘Antique’ gained huge traction in England after the re-discovery and excavations of Herculaneum in 1738 and Pompeii in 1748. The new aesthetic provided a strong contrast to the extravagances of the late Baroque and Rococo designs that dominated decorative arts in the first half of the 18th century and it was perceived as elegant, academic and 'pure'. The ‘Antique’ taste continued in favour throughout the second half of the 18th century and into the 19th century and Italy became a hugely popular destination for the wealthy to include in a ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe (1). Wedgwood and Bentley were quick to realise the commercial possibilities of this new movement.
Wedgwood’s fourteen Herculaneum Pictures were moulded from a group of plaster bas-reliefs brought to England by William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (1737-1805), thirteen of which were inspired by frescoes from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The frescoes that provide the source for the subjects of Polyphemus and Cupid and Marsyas and the young Olympus, depicted on the present pair of plaques, are now preserved in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples (2). Lord Lansdowne, an enthusiastic and esteemed patron of Wedgwood, allowed moulds to be made of his bas-reliefs for reproduction at the Wedgwood Etruria factory. It appears that the moulds were executed by Hoskins & Oliver in 1770 (3); certainly they were in production in black basalt by the following year as Josiah wrote to Bentley early in 1771 that ‘he was finishing some frames for the Herculaneum, & other Basreliefs’. The series are subsequently listed in the Wedgwood & Bentley Catalogues of 1773-79 and 1787, nos. 51-65, described as ‘Figures from paintings in the ruins of Herculaneum; the models brought over by the marquis of Lansdown’ (4), with Polyphemus and Cupid on a dolphin recorded in the Catalogue as no. 60 and Marsyas and Young Olympus as no. 61.
In addition to Lord Lansdowne’s bas-reliefs, Wedgwood used a series of engravings for reference, which originally appeared in Le antichitá di Ercolano esposte (published by the royal printing press in Naples between 1755 and 1792, at the request of the Bourbon King of Naples Charles VII, (who became King Charles III of Spain in 1759). Charles III guarded the finds from the ancient cities closely and the distribution of copies of Le antichitá di Ercolano esposte was initially limited to friends and acquaintances of the King. However, by 1770 the Wedgwood firm owned six volumes. These were a hugely important source for the Wedgwood artists, as Bentley wrote ‘[We] must acknowledge the work to be of immense value, considering the variety and importance of its contents; and we hope to see the effects of this vast harvest of antiquities, in the improvement of all the arts that depend upon design’ (5). Shortly after the publication of Le antichitá di Ercolano esposte, several unauthorized and affordable versions appeared in a variety of languages, allowing a much broader audience access to images of the newly discovered art of the ancient cities. One of the most popular versions was published in England in 1773 by Thomas Martyn and John Lettice, The Antiquities of Herculaneum. Wedgwood is among the list of subscribers to this publication, which includes engravings after the original frescoes of Polyphemus and Cupid and Marsyas and Young Olympus (plates IX and X).
The Herculaneum Pictures appear to have been produced initially in both black basalt and in white terracotta (6), and from 1778 in jasperware. Black basalt was used extensively by Wedgwood as he sought to re-create the antique 'look'. Whilst 'Egyptian Black' wares were already in production elsewhere in Staffordshire, Wedgwood sought to improve on these wares with his own recipe, carrying out countless experiments from as early as 1766. Initially he experimented with local clay mixed with carr, an oxide derived from iron residue taken from the local coal mines. However, after extensive trials, he found that by taking greater care to purify the local carr, and using magnesium to create a richer black colour and west-country clay for a finer texture he was able to create a far superior basalt body. These wares could then either be painted using the encaustic painting technique, or as is the case with the present examples, polished with leather and then finished to simulate bronze. These pieces were made to imitate the antique pottery being excavated in Herculaneum and Pompeii, and also magnificent bronzes, the likes of which he may have seen firsthand from the collections of friends such as Lord William Hamilton (1730-1803), who served as the Ambassador to the court of Naples from 1764-1800. Josiah was so delighted with the results of his newly invented polishing technique, that in 1769 he took out a patent for it.
Large plaques or tablets were a particular passion for Josiah Wedgwood, who described them as ‘the nicest branch of our business’, despite the fact they were time consuming to produce, taking as long as five or six weeks in ‘drying and burning’ (7). Larger examples such as the Herculaneum Pictures were originally intended for the decoration of the grand halls, libraries and staircases of villas and palaces across Britain and Europe, complimenting the architecture of the new neo-classical buildings. Wedgwood had a strong working relationship with several prominent architects of his day, including Robert Adam, James Wyatt and Henry Holland, persuading them to include his plaques into various aspects of their designs. In a letter to Bentley on 7th September 1771 Wedgwood wrote of Robert Adam: ‘Adam is a Man of Genius & invention & an excellent Architect & Mr. Truman assured me that he knew Mr. Adam’s [sic] kept modellers at Rome employed in copying Bas-reliefs and other things for them a connection with them would be of great use to us’ (8).
Whilst the Herculaneum Pictures were often intended for architectural ornamentation, they were also designed to stand alone. Integral frames, made in ceramic with the plaques, proved an economical way of enhancing the subject matter. The frames started as simple mouldings, but by 1771 Wedgwood was experimenting with more decorative shapes. However, this proved to be more difficult to achieve than Wedgwood expected and he wrote to Bentley in March of that year: ‘We have sent you one Feast of the Gods fram’d, & shall be glad of your opinion of the Frame... We have try’d a great variety of combinations for frames, & have found it a much more difficult matter than I expected to make them tolerably handsome, & convenient for moulding, burning…’ (9) Concerned that the plain frames were unattractive, Wedgwood soon arranged for them to be painted or gilded. The gilding was evidently executed in London and not the Etruria factory as Wedgwood wrote to Bentley that the workers make ‘such sad work of it at Etruria’ (10). However, by 1776 Wedgwood records that the metalworker Matthew Boulton of Birmingham was making gilt frames suitable for this series of plaques for fifteen shillings each. It is likely therefore that these plaques, with gilded integral frames, were made prior to this date and are among very few surviving examples of plaques with this feature.
Examples of the Herculaneum Pictures can be found in the collections of The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Polyphemus and Cupid, museum nos. 279-1866 and Female centaur and bacchante, museum no. 280-1866, both in white terracotta), The Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, USA (Female centaur and bacchante, museum nos. AFI.1753.2008 and Centaur and Achilles, museum no. AFI.1754.2008, both in black basalt with encaustic painting) and The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, USA (Female centaur and bacchante, museum no. 2013.16.9 in black basalt). An example of the model showing Marsyas and a Young Olympus (the frame ungilded) was sold in these Rooms, 6 December 1976, lot 200.
(1) Rome and Naples were particularly popular destinations. Rome became a place in which artists, collectors and intellectuals could meet and exchange ideas and admire new archaeological discoveries. Piranesi’s publications of views of Rome in the 1740s and Robert Adam’s Ruins of the Palace of Diocletian at Spalato, published in 1764, were widely disseminated, which both popularised classical architecture and lead to a reappraisal of ancient civilisations.
(2) Polyphemus and Cupid, discovered in Pompeii (museum no. 8984), Marsyas and the young Olympus, discovered in Herculaneum museum no. 9151).
(3) See Robin Reilly, Wedgwood, 1989, London, Vol. I, p. 484. Whilst the specific modeller of this pair of plaques is not confirmed, the early biographer of Josiah Wedgwood, Eliza Meteyard attributes both models to the sculptor John Bacon (1740-1799), who took on commissions for Wedgwood from 1769, see Eliza Meteyard, The Life of Josiah Wedgwood, 1866, London, Vol. II, p. 136. See also Alison Kelly, Decorative Wedgwood in Architecture and Furniture, 1965, London, p. 25 where Kelly furthers this attribution by stating that they 'may well be by his hand. They have a fantasy and a sense of fun not often found among the more seriously classical designs of Flaxman'. However, Kelly also suggests (ibid., 1965, London, p. 23) that these moulds could have been made by Hoskins and Oliver who sent Wedgwood an invoice in 1770 for 'Making Moulds upon 16 Basso relieves'. The fact that this invoice was for sixteen moulds, not fourteen, the known number of Herculaneum Pictures, perhaps makes this attribution uncertain.
(4) See Robin Reilly, ibid., 1989, London, Vol. II, pp. 729-730 where the full entry in the Wedgwood & Bentley Catalogues for the series is reproduced as follows; nos. 51-56 Dancing Nymphs, nos. 57-9 Centaurs, no. 60 Polyphemus, no. 61 Marsyas and Young Olympus, no. 62 Papyrius and His Mother, no. 64 A Bacchanalian Figure and no. 65 Bacchanalian figure. Number 63 is omitted from the Catalogues.
(5) See the essay by Nancy Ramage, ‘Flying Maenads and Cupids: Pompeii, Herculaneum and 18th Century Decorative Arts’, in Carol Mauttsch, Rediscovering the Ancient World on the Bay of Naples, 1710-1890, 2013, Washington, p. 169 for the quotation and further discussion of the influence of Le antichitá di Ercolano esposte on contemporary decorative arts.
(6) A white terracotta example of Polyphemus and Cupid is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum no. 280-1866).
(7) See Robin Reilly, ibid., 1989, London, Vol. I, p.487.
(8) See Diana Edwards, Black Basalt, Wedgwood and Contemporary Manufacturers, Suffolk, 1994, p. 39.
(9) See Robin Reilly, ibid., 1989, London, Vol. I, p.485.
(10) See Robin Reilly, ibid., 1989, London, Vol. I, p.485.