At the beginning of the 18th century, after the secrets of Chinese porcelain were cracked by Europeans, many overlords of the porcelain industry emerged on the European continent.
Wedgwood from the UK is officially one of the best. They produce bone china, pottery or commemorative plates, not only for royalty but also for collectors on the auction market. With a history of nearly 250 years, this brand has written a history of famous porcelain outside of China.
Founded in 1759, Wedgwood is indeed the world's most famous porcelain brand, and this famous factory designated by the British royal family has written a glorious page for European porcelain.
And the history of its founder, Josiah Wedgwood, is an inspirational example today.
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood, known as the "Father of Ceramics" in England, was born in 1730 into a family of workers who specialized in making pottery bowls and bowls.
He had an unhappy childhood, his father died when he was 9 years old, and his eldest brother took up the burden of the family. So Josiah Wedgwood started making pottery at a young age in her family's bowl-making factory.
He was infected with the fatal smallpox when he was 16 years old, but fortunately he saved his life from the ghost gate, otherwise there would be no Wedgwood porcelain in the world, and there would be no "Wedgwood Blue" that amazes the world.
However, the smallpox left his right leg weak, and later his right leg was damaged in a horseback riding accident, causing lifelong mobility problems.
As the saying goes, if you lose your horse, you don't know if you are blessed. It was this opportunity that allowed Josiah Wedgwood to concentrate more on the technology of ceramics and focus on scientific research.
Josiah Wedgwood in Barlaston
Josiah Wedgwood's research on ceramics caught the attention of Thomas Whieldon, the master of English ceramics at the time, and he was recruited as a partner, and the two studied ceramic firing technology together. However, collaborating with others means sharing your research with others.
After a period of working together, it became clear that Josiah Wedgwood's skills surpassed those of Thomas Whieldon, which led him to start his own factory
In 1759, after much consideration, Josiah Wedgwood returned to his hometown and founded the Wedgwood Ceramics Factory to produce his own pottery. Wedgwood's first shot to fame was their production of white ceramic.
These white porcelains have a white and bright appearance, but the price is cheaper than ordinary pottery, so they quickly set off a boom in the market.
At that time, some people bought these white porcelains and put them back with a layer of glaze, printed with patterns, and then resold them to Europe and the United States.
In 1765, Queen Charlotte, who admired Wedgwood porcelain, decided to choose it as a royal masterpiece, and gave it the nickname "Queen's Ware".
This distinction catapulted Wedgwood to the fore of high society, with royal aristocrats all over Europe vying for pride in owning a set of Wedgwood cutlery for their guests.
In 1773, Empress Caterina II of Russia placed one of the most challenging orders, ordering a complete set of 952 pieces of ceramics.
As a result, the Wedgwood factory painted each piece of porcelain in a different English style, with a total of 1,244 fine brush strokes, making the entire set a true work of art.
In this move, the tableware became an extraordinary work of art, and at the same time, it also gave Wedgwood a rise in popularity. At this time, many factories in Europe followed Wedgwood's example and switched to off-white ceramics, and even some factories in France and Germany were affected.
Creamware有盖汤碗
Creamware dinner plate
Creamware dinner plate
Despite her career success, Josiah Wedgwood continues to focus on the art and materials of ceramics.
Among them, Wedgwood's signature product is the Jasper Ware series, which was invented in 1774 called "Emerald".
Stoneware model of Wedgwood embossed jade
Jasper Ware is actually a very hard, non-porous stoneware that is not as smooth and translucent as ceramic, but Wedgwood has developed a secret recipe of mixing emerald, a semi-precious stone powder, with clay.
As a result, the pottery is fired in an indescribable, beautiful and restrained hue.
Wedgwood experimented with a blue color that was so successful that it became known as Wedgwood Blue, which became a feature of British porcelain.
Wedgwood's signature powder blue color was developed from the collection. In addition to powder blue, Wedgwood can also be burned in different shades such as black, pink, pink green, pink and yellow, and paired with a hand-painted relief statue in milky white, making Jasper Ware as beautiful as a work of art.
茶杯，Wedgwood
Victorian vase, Wedgwood
Coffee pot series, Wedgwood
Portland vase, Wedgwood
厢式写字台, Wedgwood
Oval embossed jade detail
A small sword with a hilt inlaid with Wedgwood embossed jade ceramic
Wedgwood also hired John Flaxman, a famous sculptor of the time, and reproduced the various statues and reliefs he had made into this pottery.
These white ornaments are attached to the carcass of the pottery, creating a strong contrast with the color of the carcass, and the three-dimensional relief effect is stunning, and each piece is full of romance and nobility.
Cupid and Psyche wedding relief jade scene, Wedgwood
It is worth mentioning that the grandson of Josiah Wedgwood, the founder of wedgwood, is Charles Robert Darwin, the author of the famous book On the Origin of Species.
In 1812, Wedgwood first introduced the delicate Bone China tableware.
Bone china production refers to the fusion of more than 35% animal bone meal with spherical clay and kaolin, due to the addition of bone meal, the difficulty of firing also increases with the increase of bone meal ratio, and Wedgwood's animal bone meal is as high as 51% It is characterized by having the highest animal bone meal content in the world, the texture is harder than that of ordinary porcelain and is not easy to break, and has good heat retention and light transmittance, and has both aesthetic and practical value. Wedgwood bone china is the strongest ceramic body in the world, in addition to its pure white color and translucency.
In 1902, President Franklin D. Roosevelt Sr. hosted a banquet at the White House, the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary luxury cruise ship in 1935, and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom in 1953.
In September 1988, Wedgwood made four bone china coffee cups smoothly support a 15-ton truck during a product demonstration, which shows the sturdiness of his bone china ware.
The fine materials required for ceramics and the meticulous work of craftsmen require a lot of money.
At Wedgwood, there are still many products that are made by hand, because no machine has yet reached the level of craftsmanship in terms of the quality required.
In this way, it takes many good craftsmen to create a set of products, and these craftsmen's skills require a long period of rigorous training, such as 4 years of wire drawing, 2 years of hand glazing, 7 years of powdering, and 7 years of alchemy.
Moreover, all of this unique craftsmanship is steeped in history, with a legacy of excellence in design and quality. Each product has the best materials and handmade decorations, and in this era of large machine production, it makes sense that such ingenious products can be sold at an expensive price.
Wedgwood, the UK's top bone china craft
Wedgwood ceramics are of noble quality, delicate in texture, concise in style, and extremely artistic. Elegant and elegant, classicist designs have always been the style of Wedgwood's ceramic products.
To this day, many of the most beautiful Wedgwood products still reflect the brand's heritage. Josiah Wedgwood is known as the "Father of British Ceramics".
The Encyclopædia Britannica says of him: "Excellence in the study of ceramic manufacturing, in-depth study of raw materials, rational arrangement of labor, and foresight in the organization of business made him one of the great leaders of the Industrial Revolution." ”
After the death of Josiah Wedgwood, his children and grandchildren continued the legacy of their ancestors, who have always placed Wedgwood as the world's leading ceramic brand. The Wedgwood brand has become a symbol of the world's most traditional British ceramic art.