Wedgwood Sugar Bowl

myminifactory

This a Wedgwood sugar bowl from the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. A circular sugar bowl of red earthenware which is designed in Egyptian style with lug handles and a domed cover. The bowl is decorated around the rim with a geometric band of applied black basaltes stoneware. The lid is surmounted by a knop in the form of a black basaltes crocodile. The rim of the lid is bordered with a frieze of applied Egyptian (and pseudo Egyptian) motifs in black basaltes. They include stylised hawk's wings, the god Horus in falcon form, two crocodiles, a canopic jar and the god Horus in griffon form. Adjacent to these motif there are a scattering of hieroglyphs (some real, some invented) It is a Rosso Antico (red stoneware) sucrier (sugar bowl and lid), made by Wedgwood and Sons in Staffordshire, England, in about 1805. It is decorated with a frieze of Egyptian and pseudo-Egyptian symbols, made of Black Basaltes. While porcelain played an important role in fashionable interior decoration and daily life in Europe in the 1700s, it was Josiah Wedgwood's pottery that had the greatest impact. A leading Staffordshire potter, Wedgwood produced an impressive range of vases, ornaments and tableware. Trend-setting classical designs, and Wedgwood's bold and inventive marketing, ensured the popularity of his wares.