Wedgwood Black Basalt Lions

One of history’s greatest thinkers, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is the subject of this black basalt figure by Wedgwood. The individual features and personality of the celebrated philosoph...

In this expertly rendered black basalt bust, Mercury, the fleet-footed Roman god of commerce, communication and transport, is depicted in a winged h...

This enchanting antique Wedgwood black basalt inkwell is crafted in the form of an ancient oil lamp. With a removable well and holes for storing pens ...

A remarkable example of Josiah Wedgwood's legendary ceramic art, the importance and rarity of this urn vase simply cannot be overstated. Black basalt refers to the fine-grained stoneware developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1760s that was inspired by the hard, natural stone known as Egyptian basalt...

Exceptionally rare early figure of Bacchus in black basalt. The mixed-case mark places this figure between 1780 and 1785. He is portrayed in typical style, his head garlanded with grapes and with a wine cup to his lips. Bacchus, also known as Dionysus in Greek mythology, is the enigmatic god of wine, fertility, and ritual madness. He symbolizes freedom, ecstasy, and the blurring of societal norms through his rituals and festivities. Bacchus is often depicted in myths as a deity who challenges the status quo, promoting an atmosphere where conventional rules do not apply, and his followers are liberated from their everyday constraints. Born from Zeus and the mortal Semele, Bacchus is unique among gods, bridging the divide between the divine and the human. His followers included the wild and ecstatic maenads, female devotees who often reached states of divine frenzy, and the satyrs, mischievous half-man, half-goat beings. The worship of Bacchus was marked by theatrical processions, dances, and plays, reflecting his patronage of the theater and the dramatic arts. Bacchus’s mythology...

Perhaps the most complex work in black basalt undertaken on any scale by Wedgwood, the Bacchantes, are adapted from sculptures by Clodion. A large and impressive pair, ful of vigour ...

An antique Wedgwood black basalt bust of Plato. This Grand Tour sculpture is a very stylish depiction of the Athenian philosopher Plato (c.428-347 B.C.). He is one of the most impo...

An antique Wedgwood black basalt bust of Homer. This Grand Tour style sculpture is a very stylish depiction of the scholar. This English bust depicts the legendary poet and author Homer who is presumed to have penned the two of ancient Greece’s most epic poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey. Scholars are uncertain whether or not Homer actually existed but if he in fact did exist, Homer would be regarded as one of the greatest literary artists of his time. At over 160 years old, this Homer bust...