WEDGWOOD JASPER INSERTS ON HISTORIC SWORD HILT

Click on the post title to see an interesting internet posting about an historic dress sword in the reserve collection of the Victoria & Albert which apparently sports two small Wedgwood jasper cameos. The author's description of the cameos' colors leaves a bit to be desired - however the tag names Matthew Boulton, so apparently he was the crafter of the hilt, and we know he used cameos supplied by Wedgwood & Sons so they probably ARE really Wedgwood cameos. Upon further research I find that there is an excellent article about sword hilts mounted with Wedgwood cameos on page 132 & 133 of the hardbound edition of The Dwight and Lucille Beeson Wedgwood Collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The hilts there are very much like this one in style and shape. Check it out! There is a softbound edition of the book too, perhaps found at your local library. If you are a collector, you should have this book. Additionally the catalogue of the 250th Wedgwood Anniversary Exhibition at the DAR Museum which closed in February, 2010, illustrates a sword hilt very similar to this photo. It is held by the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA. It too was made by Matthew Boulton, leading manufacturer of decorative metalwork in the 18th century. The 5 illustrated cameos in this hilt are dark blue with white sprigged relief. We do still have a couple of the exhibit catalogues for sale, check our website or contact us.

WEDGWOOD TIDBIT Top Antique Treasures of the Year 2007

In looking for a document just now on my computer, I found this tidbit of information I had saved from a 2007 issue of Art & Antiques Magazine, one of my favorites:

Last March as Alan Darr, curator of European sculpture and decorative arts at the Detroit Institute of Arts, led patrons and high-level museum personnel through the crowded Maastricht art fair (TEFAF), he discovered what he calls a "masterpiece of French Directoire and pre-Empire furniture." For years, Darr had been looking for an important example of such furniture, typical of the late 18th century, and what he and his colleagues found at the booth of the Zurich dealer Richard Redding is, says Darr, "one of the great pieces of European furniture to come up in the market in many years." One of the specialists on the trip with Darr made the pronouncement that no other American institution had anything like this mahogany pier table with a sphinx monopod, designed by a virtual consortium of period master artisans. The masterful demi-lune Parisian pier table, or console, is characterized by reddish-brown mahogany veneers, gilt bronzes, Wedgwood medallions, a blue marble top and a winged sphinx. As Darr explains, the Greek version of the Egyptian sphinx features wings. He would not disclose the purchase price except to say, "It is worth well above $500,000." —D.M.
Art & Antiques 2007 ~100 top Treasures of the year

Our Friend Piers, Lord Wedgwood makes a Statement at English Speaking Union Bash

Here is Piers, with lovely wife Jean, attending a party and fund-raiser to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Birthday at the English Speaking Union in Philadelphia. In the second pic they are in the background, but scroll down for a close up shot of our friend Piers smiling and schmoozing, what he does SO very well!

WEDGWOOD DESIGNER DIES IN APRIL

Norman Makinson 1923-2010 has died. Click the title of this post to go to his obituary. Makinson designed the well-known and popular mug commemorating the Festival of Britain in 1951 and the tableware pattern Partridge in a Pear Tree on the Coupe/Savoy shape. He was a designer and artist for Wedgwood, served in the Royal Marines in World War II and later taught design. Another of the Wedgwood 'old timers' leaves behind a great legacy.

Australian Commentary on new Wedgwood Style Campaign

Here from an Australian website is the statement of Wedgwood's current style philosophy, targeting the creative styles of younger women in today's market. Click the Post title to go straight there.

INVENTORY REDUCTION SALE

WE HAVE RECENTLY MOVED ALL OF OUR MERCHANDISE AND WE FIND THE NEW SPACE NOT QUITE AS BIG AS WE PREVIOUSLY ENJOYED. TO MAKE OUR SPACE MORE CONDUCIVE TO GOOD BUSINESS, WE ARE REDUCING INVENTORY - ALL ITEMS IN OUR BONE CHINA CATEGORY (ITEMS WITH PRODUCT #S IN THE 600 SERIES) ARE 25% OFF. PLEASE SEND US ANY INQUIRIES THROUGH WEB COMMENTS, OR SIMPLY PUT ITEMS IN YOUR CART AND ASK A QUESTION, OR PLACE AN ORDER, THE PRICES YOU NOW SEE IN THIS CATEGORY ARE ALREADY REDUCED 25%. IF YOU MIX AND MATCH CATEGORIES THE REDUCED PRICES WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY REFLECTED.
THANKS FOR VISITING! CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS POST TO GO DIRECTLY TO OUR BONE CHINA CATEGORY.

Fairyland Lustre

Click on the Title to go to a nice, short article on Fairyland Lustre. The photos are beautiful. I normally don't refer to other websites/blogs of this sort because they contain so much misinformation, but this one is a lovely overview and a delight to the eyes! Yesterday I found one that said that Josiah loved black so much he called his black EARTHENWARE black basalt.... if you are just learning about Wedgwood, please get some good books and curl up and read them, perhaps with a nice glass of vino. Don't do all your research on-line because there is just so much that is untrue, even ridiculous, on unvetted blogs and websites!

MORE ON THE DARWINS & WEDGWOODS

The stories of the connection between the Wedgwood and Darwin families are in the forefront of the news more and more these days. Last year's Darwin anniversary brought out quite a bit of information on the family, but it hasn't disappeared from the interests of scientists and Darwin fans, or Wedgwood fans, as this article illustrates. There are many books about the Darwin/Wedgwood families, check them out! Note that this article indicates that it might have been his own family genetics and genealogy which prompted Charles Darwin to begin his thought processes. Check it out here. There are some controversial comments to this blog post, and we at Alexis Antiques do not support or deny those comments. Our interest is bringing Wedgwood-related information to the greater Wedgwood community. The Wedgwoods & Darwins intermarried for many generations, that is a fact, not a value judgment. The consequences of consanguinous lineages is a large topic, better left to the scientists, not blog posters! The facts represented in this article were of interest to us and we think they might also be of interest to our readers. Monday morning brings another article on this same topic in another UK publication. A bit more of the same, but perhaps interesting nonetheless. Click HERE.

WEDGWOOD EXHIBIT AT ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

Here is another exhibit of Wedgwood that should be excellent ~ the ROM holdings are well known and worth a visit! - Wedgwood: Artistry and Innovation Until August 29, 2010

"Classic design and changing styles are featured in this beautiful exhibition of nearly 100 of the finest Wedgwood wares in Canada.
Discover the genius of founder Josiah Wedgwood I (1730-1795), whose diverse, high-quality products and business practices revolutionized the English ceramics industry in the 18th century.

The ROM's outstanding collection of Wedgwood includes pieces of "Queen’s Ware" from the table of Catherine the Great, copies of the famed “Portland Vase,” a black basalt relief that weighs over 800 pounds, as well as exquisite cameo medallions and jewellery." Send us a review and your pictures if you go there so we can share with our visitors!

CHILDREN'S ART PROJECT FUNDRAISER

What a nice way to add to your collection of contemporary Wedgwood items, in yet another new color. Wedgwood has produced a lovely heart ornament in conjunction with MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas at Houston. The ornament was designed by a patient at MDA named Ines who is from Argentina. It's well packed in a Wedgwood box and ours arrived in 8 days after we ordered online and paid by Paypal. It is not jasper of course, it's the smooth porcelain now being made in China by Wedgwood. Same look and feel as the blue heart ornaments sold for fundraisers by the Wedgwood 250th Anniversary Committee. The color is not so easy to describe. We are using the photo from a Wedgwood & Sons website, on our monitor it looks like terra cotta; in the "flesh" it looks like maybe salmon pink; definitely not bubblegum/baby pink and not the Japanese burgundy by Wedgwood. I held mine up to a 1957 piece of terra cotta real jasper and it looks pinker...next to a baby pink stuffed flamingo it looks terra cotta-ishly indescribable!! You'll just have to buy one, donate to a great cause and as an extra perk, learn about a new color! Those of you in Houston, be sure to patronize the Children's Art Project Boutique at Uptown Park; 1121-14 Uptown Park Blvd., Loop 610 West & Post Oak Blvd/713 599 0349. From the package insert it looks like a super place to come up with interesting and different gifts~ Open 10 AM to 6pm Monday thru Saturday. Not only do I love having something new and different in my Wedgwood collection, but a nice remembrance of something bad turned good at the hands of the docs at MDA. Once upon a time when my 33 1/2 year old son was about 2 or 3 we were on a biz trip with his dad in Houston and he became so sick he couldn't even keep down a tablespoon of water. As a young mother I was in a huge PANIC, scared, away from home with this terribly sick child. I took him to the pediatric ER at MDA and even though his illness wasn't diagnosed, they got him well so we could travel home safely. I've never forgotten their efficiency and kindness to me and him when we were so vulnerable. Be sure to click the title of this post to go to the Children's Art Project great website and visit them on Facebook at MDAndersonChildrensArtProject ~ wonderful people providing life-saving services for deserving sick children! And thanks to Will Fitzgerald for his kind words!