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Josiah’s Gems---Wedgwood’s
Portrait Medallions
Keith A McLeod & James
R. Boyle
In the eighteenth century there was , of course no photography nor any other readily available and inexpensive ways of producing likenesses except for the silhouettes which were produced with cut out paper. The more expensive forms of reproducing likenesses were either engravings or the work of artists in oil, watercolours, or line drawings. Josiah Wedgwood added a dimension to the art of human representation, the portrait medallion. His improvement of the basalt body by 1766, and even more so, the development of Jasper ware in 1774, enabled him to conceive of the idea of producing likenesses of both the living and the dead and the obscure as well as the famous. ( It should be noted here that some of the first medallions were also made in stone ware but Wedgwood found that body not too satisfactory and he discontinued using it for these purposes.) Millions of medallions have emerged from the factories of Wedgwood, even likenesses of Josiah and his beloved wife Sally. The size of the representations varied from versions less than an inch in diameter to large plaque like medallions some seventeen inches at their widest point. Medallions were done in bas-relief while the reverse form, concave depictions were referred to by the very old name, intaglios.
There seems to be some doubt about the first of these medallions, although one authority suggests that the first subject was the son of a certain Mrs. Crewe in 1771. It was modelled by Josiah’s famous modeller, William Hackwood (1757-1839). Wedgwood wrote to his partner, Thomas Bentley, that Bentley’s suggestion that medallions be made of the King and Queen was a good one but Josiah thought the idea should be extended to the King’s illustrious subjects. The production of these gems, as Josiah referred to them, was well under way by the early 1770s. The first catalogue that Wedgwood produced, ( another of his marketing innovations ), in 1773, included 285 cameo medallions and intaglios that were available for order and purchase in basalt or stone ware.
Further editions of his catalogue in the later 1770s included significantly larger numbers of medallions, now available in jasper and basalt. Whole series of popes, kings. philosophers, statesmen and orators of Greek fame , Roman Emperors and .Roman historical figures, saints, and illustrious moderns were listed for sale. We should not here that medallions were used to mount many other forms of decoration in addition to portraits; Greeks and Roman mythical figures, animals, scenes of various sorts, as well as crests and flowers and even advertising have appeared over the years on medallions.
At this point it might be well to comment on the production processes. Jasper was very suitable for the medallions because of the fine grain of the body; the Jasper could be ‘undercut’ around the edge of the bas relief thus giving the impression of greater depth to the portrait. As Jasper was made in several colours the background could be a different colour to the portrait bas relief. Because the bodies were so good, Josiah also found that he could portray the likenesses in profile, semi-profile, or full face. Although the early medallions were sometimes framed with metal straps, increasingly he framed the medallions, when he did frame them, in the same body.
How did people display these gems? In some instances they were kept in specially made cabinets , with shallow drawers, that could accommodate collections of hundreds. In other instances there were wall cabinets and even large frames with a glass covering the gems. Some were mounted on furniture, while others were used to decorate fireplaces, both on and above. They were also used as architectural decor on friezes around elegant rooms. Around the home they would possibly be seen on desk accoutrements, humidors, book covers, toiletries, and even snuff boxes. Perhaps the most personal use of the medallions was there use on jewelry; they were found on necklaces, bracelets, rings, fobs, buttons, and earrings.
Anyone could have their likeness
modelled, if they could afford it; these were not open to general sale.
However, the well known or famous that Wedgwood produced were available
for the fashionable to purchase for their fashionable houses. The
use of medallions was popular through to the time of Josiah’s
death in 1795; the
pattern continued into the 19th century but with diminished production
. It was only the most noted persons who were generally done
after mid 19th century.
There has been one decade in the 20th century when there was an interest in medallions at the factory. Partly as a result of the Arts and Crafts Movement which popularized hand craft, Harry Barnard and Bert Bentley , using the old molds which had been discovered in a room at the factory, produced by hand a series of new impressions of the originals. Although these are some times confused with the originals they should not be as they are almost invariably marked with a BB ( Barnard and Bentley) and a number, and they have an elongated O. In fact , the most authoritative source , Robin Reilly and George Savage, in 1973 suggested that less than 100 new portraits were produced after 1840. In recent years, the Wedgwood company has largely restricted the production to royalty, prime ministers, and presidents.
These articles were originally published
in Antiques Showcase, where
our articles on Wedgwood are frequently found.
The Antiques Showcase subscription
email is: office@trajan.com
For further information, contact k.mcleod@fcmail.com
