Emperor Marcus Julius Philippus
18th century
Medium
White jasperware
Dimensions
2 × 1 5/8 in. (5.1 × 4.1 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Pottery
Culture
British, Staffordshire
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Mary Clark Thompson, 1923
Accession Number
24.80.45
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate white jasperware medallion portrays Emperor Marcus Julius Philippus, known as Philip the Arab, a Roman ruler of the 3rd century CE, in a classic profile view. Produced by the esteemed British partnership of Josiah Wedgwood and Thomas Bentley in 18th-century Staffordshire, it measures a petite 2 × 1⅝ inches (5.1 × 4.1 cm), ideal for display in a collector's cabinet or as a neoclassical ornament. Wedgwood's revolutionary jasperware technique—a fine, unglazed stoneware with a matte white body—recreated the elegance of ancient Greek and Roman cameos. Applied reliefs in contrasting c...