Posidonius
18th century
Medium
Black basalt ware
Dimensions
2 3/4 × 2 1/4 in. (7 × 5.7 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Pottery
Culture
British, Etruria, Staffordshire
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Glenn Tilley Morse Collection, Bequest of Glenn Tilley Morse, 1950
Accession Number
50.187.17
Tags
Art Historical Context
Crafted by Josiah Wedgwood in the18th century, *Posidonius* is a exquisite example of black basalt ware, a fine-grained, unglazed stoneware with a matte black finish thatgwood perfected to evoke the grandeur of ancient Greek and Roman. This small profile portrait, measuring just 2¾ × 2¼ inches, likely depicts the Stoic philosopher Posidonius (c. 135–51 BCE), known for his to geography and astronomy. Produced at Wedgwood's Etruria factory in Staffordshire, England, it exemplifies the neoclassical revival, where British artisans drew inspiration from classical antiquity to create elegant, durabl...
About the Artist
Josiah Wedgwood · 1730–1795
Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795) was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, the thirteenth child of a potter whose family had worked in the craft since the seventeenth century. Apprenticed to his elder brother Thomas following their father's death, he went on to a partnership with Thomas Whieldon of Fenton — the most respected potter in England at the time — which gave him command of all the principal techniq...