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Gallery Text

Renowned potter Josiah Wedgwood was not only a master artisan, but a transformative innovator in 18th-century craft, production, and science. Born into a family of potters, Wedgwood developed his own new clay bodies, such as the well-known pastel-colored jasperware above and the black basalt in the adjacent case. One of the medallions seen here is displayed to feature its back, which is inscribed with notes recording the process used to achieve the specific color of the jasperware body.

Many of the jasperware works seen here are from Wedgwood’s “Illustrious Moderns” series, which modeled political and other famous figures of the day in the form of ancient cameos so that one could collect and display their likenesses in their homes. Harnessing the interest in the ancient world during the second half of the 18th century, Wedgwood made and named works that would appeal to connoisseurs of antiquities.

[1943.1239, 1943.1195, 1943.1201, 1943.1191, 1943.1182]

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.1195
People
Wedgwood, British (founded 1759 )
Modelled by Jean de Vaere, Belgian (Belgium 1755 - 1830)
Title
Admiral Lord Richard Howe (1726-1799)
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Admiral Jervis, Earl St. Vincent
Classification
Medals and Medallions
Work Type
medallion
Date
1798
Places
Creation Place: Europe, United Kingdom, England, Etruria
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/229937

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2340, European and American Art, 17th–19th century, The Silver Cabinet: Art and Ritual, 1600–1850
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
White jasperware body with lavender glaze; profile bust in white relief
Technique
Jasperware
Dimensions
sight: 9.6 x 7.5 x 1.9 cm (3 3/4 x 2 15/16 x 3/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • manufacturer's mark: verso, impressed: WEDGWOOD
  • gallery label: verso, paper and black ink, printed and handwritten: [printed:] F. RATHBONE / South Kensington, / LONDON, S.W.; [handwritten:] Admiral Jervis / Earl St. Vincent / 1734-1823 / 1792 Period

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Frederick Rathbone, London, England], sold; to Grenville L. Winthrop, New York, NY, 1913, bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.1195
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

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Descriptions

Description
Howe in right profile, with mlitary uniform with epaulets.

Publication History

  • Jean Gorely, "The Winthrop Collection", Old Wedgwood, Wellesley Press, Inc. (Wellesley, MA, 1943), no. 10, pp. 132-139, p. 135
  • Old Wedgwood from the Bequest of Grenville Lindall Winthrop, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1944), no. 57, p. 27
  • Louise Todd Ambler, Benjamin Franklin: A Perspective, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975), p.132, no. 66, ill. p. 133

Exhibition History

  • Old Wedgwood from the Bequest of Grenville Lindall Winthrop, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 06/04/1944 - 09/03/1944
  • Benjamin Franklin: A Perspective, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 04/17/1975 - 09/22/1975
  • 32Q: 2340 Cabinet Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/10/2023 - 01/01/2050

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu