Early Portland Blue Jasperware "Arcadian Coffee Pot"

Rare Wedgwood Early Portland Blue Jasperware "Arcadian Tea-Coffee Pot" measures 4.50 inches high and 8.25 inches wide from spout to handle. There is a touched up spot in the spout, otherwise in good condition. Stamped WEDGWOOD and ENGLAND IN THE BODY OF THE WORK, Estimated manufacture 1900-1930.

Josiah Wedgwood worked with the established potter Thomas Whieldon until 1759 when relatives leased him the Ivy House in Burslem, allowing him to start his own pottery business. The launch of the new venture was helped by his marriage to a remote cousin Sarah (also Wedgwood) who brought a sizable dowry with her.

In 1765, Wedgwood created a new earthenware form which impressed the then English Queen consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who gave permission to call it "Queen's Ware"; this new form sold extremely well across Europe. The following year Wedgwood bought Etruria, a large Staffordshire estate, as both home and factory site. Wedgwood developed a number of further industrial innovations for his company, notably a way of measuring kiln temperatures accurately and new ware types Black Basalt and Jasper Ware. Wedgwood's most famous ware is jasperware. It was created to look like ancient cameo glass. It was inspired by the Portland Vase, a Roman vessel which is now a museum piece.. (The first jasperware colour was Portland Blue, an innovation that required experiments with more than 3,000 samples). In recognition of the importance of his pyrometer, Josiah Wedgwood was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1783. Today, the Wedgwood Prestige collection sells replicas of some of the original designs as well as modern neo-classical style jasperware.