Wedgwood

Wedgwood
   Josiah Wedgwood was the source of many eponymous words, but foremost is "Wedgwood blue." Much of his pottery was graced with classical figures in white cameo relief on an unglazed background. Born in Burslem, Staffordshire, England, Wedgwood (1730-1795) was poor and uneducated. His family had a small pottery shop, but pottery was not much in demand. Most pottery was imported from Delft, in Holland, and the higher-quality pottery came directly from China. Wedgwood's experiments led to a particularly refined green glaze. In 1759, he set up a factory at Ivy House in Burslem that was so successful that he soon needed larger quarters.
   In 1769, Wedgwood, together with Thomas Bentley, built a factory called Etruria, where his experiments with ceramic glazes made him famous. Many of his designs on newly patented pottery were executed by a young sculptor named John Flaxman, who ultimately became the first professor of sculpture at the Royal Academy of Art. Wedgwood's china became identified with the fine cream-colored porcelainlike household ware with which Wedgwood built his reputation. He invented jasperware and Queen's ware, a household pottery named after Queen Charlotte. He also made advances in black basalt stoneware. The queen became enamored of his white stoneware, and her patronage attracted the attention of the rich, the famous, and the royal. Wedgwood's fortune was assured.
   Wedgwood's children also did well. His son is credited with having discovered the basic principles of photography, long before the daguerreotype was even dreamed of. His daughter, Susannah, was the mother of Charles Darwin.
   It may be apocryphal, but some word historians insist that John Keats was confused about the identity of the urn he described in his Ode to a Grecian Urn. This urn was nonexistent. According to the story, Keats had seen a Wedgwood imitation of a Greek vase. Thus inspired, he wrote:
Thou still unravished bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time . . .
Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth and all ye need to know.

Dictionary of eponyms. . 2013.

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  • Wedgwood — Wedgwood, strictly Josiah Wedgwood and Sons , is a British pottery firm, originally founded in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood, which in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal, creating Waterford Wedgwood, the Ireland based luxury brands group. The company… …   Wikipedia

  • Wedgwood — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Emma Wedgwood (1808–1896), Ehefrau von Charles Darwin James Ingall Wedgwood (1883–1951), Gründer und erster Erzbischof der Liberalkatholischen Kirche Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795), englischer Unternehmer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • WEDGWOOD (J.) — WEDGWOOD JOSIAH (1730 1795) Principal représentant d’une importante dynastie de potiers anglais, Josiah Wedgwood, treizième enfant de Thomas Wedgwood, est né à Burslem (Staffordshire). Dès l’âge de neuf ans, il travaille à la poterie paternelle… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Wedgwood® — /wejˈwŭd/ noun Pottery made by Josiah Wedgwood (1730–95) and his successors, including a distinctive type with cameo reliefs in white on a coloured ground (also Wedgwood ware) Wedgwood blue noun A greyish blue colour much used in Wedgwood pottery …   Useful english dictionary

  • Wedgwood™ — [Wedgwood] noun [U] fine English ↑pottery and ↑china made by the company established in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood (1730–95) near ↑Stoke on Trent in ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Wedgwood [1] — Wedgwood (spr. Wedschwudd), Josiah, geb. 1730 in Staffordshire, der Sohn eines Töpfers, ergriff selbst dieses Handwerk, suchte aber den Gefäßen eine antike, bes. etruskische Form zu geben; namentlich stellte er im Verein mit Chryselius (John… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Wedgwood [2] — Wedgwood (spr. Wedschwudd), eine Art Steingut (s.d. a), nach dem Verbesserer desselben, Josiah Wedgwood, benannt. Man hat es von allen Farben; das strohgelbe heißt Bamboo, das blaugraue Basaltes, das gelblichweiße Biscuit od. Jasper… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Wedgwood [2] — Wedgwood (spr. ŭéddsch wudd), Josia h, der Schöpfer der englischen Tonwarenindustrie, geb. 12. Juli 1730 zu Burslem in Staffordshire, gest. 3. Jan. 1795 in Etruria, erlernte die Töpferei und bemühte sich um die Verbesserung des Materials und der… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • wedgwood — type of English pottery, 1787, from Josiah Wedgwood (1730 1795), English potter …   Etymology dictionary

  • Wedgwood — ► NOUN 1) trademark ceramic ware made by the English potter Josiah Wedgwood (1730 95) and his successors, especially a kind of stoneware with white embossed cameos. 2) a powder blue colour characteristic of this stoneware …   English terms dictionary

  • Wedgwood — [wej′wood΄] [after J. Wedgwood (1730 95), Eng potter] trademark for a fine English ceramic ware, typically with delicate neoclassic figures applied in a white, cameolike relief on a tinted background …   English World dictionary

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