1943.1195: Admiral Lord Richard Howe (1726-1799)
Medals and MedallionsGallery 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.
The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
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 - 06/02/2025
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