Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

18th Century Large Wedgwood & Bentley Black Basalt Jar England Circa 1775

$5,300
£4,037.79
€4,655.73
CA$7,417.24
A$8,287.53
CHF 4,335.30
MX$101,631.72
NOK 55,396.89
SEK 52,530.92
DKK 34,748.24
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

This impressive black basalt jar, crafted by Wedgwood and Bentley at the renowned Etruria factory, embodies the refined simplicity of the neoclassical style. The jar features an elongated ovoid form that gracefully tapers to a fluted pedestal base. Its surface is smooth and unadorned, except for a delicate band of low-relief ornamentation encircling the shoulder.  The elegantly curved handles, extending from the shoulder with gentle scrolls, frame the vessel with a sense of sculptural restraint. The domed lid, topped with a spherical finial, completes the silhouette. With a deep, velvety finish, the matte black basalt body emphasizes the purity of its shape. This jar exemplifies neoclassical refinement, where proportion and form take precedence over ornamentation. It reflects the ideals of balance, symmetry, and timeless elegance that define Wedgwood and Bentley's finest work.  Marks: The jar has the rare Wedgwood & Bentley "Etruria" lozenge mark, which was used from 1769 to 1780 (see image). Dimensions: 14.25" tall x 6.5" diameter Condition: Excellent Price: $5,300 Background of Wedgwood & Bentley: Josiah Wedgwood and Thomas Bentley, a savvy businessman, formed the partnership Wedgwood & Bentley in 1769. This collaboration marked a transformative period in English ceramics, driven by innovation, quality, and refined aesthetics. One of their most celebrated achievements was the production of black basalt, a fine-grained stoneware developed by Wedgwood one year before in 1768. The material was prized for its rich, matte black surface, which provided an ideal canvas for intricate designs, including relief decoration and finely engraved patterns. Black basalt was inspired by the classical forms and deep hues of Etruscan pottery, an essential influence during England's 18th-century Neoclassical revival. The partnership focused on producing elegant and artistic wares, including vases, busts, and decorative objects, often modeled on ancient Etruscan, Greek, and Roman motifs. Black basalt was immediately popular. In 1774, Josiah Wedgwood wrote this praise of black basalt: "The Black is sterling & will last for ever."
  • Creator:
    Wedgwood & Bentley (Manufacturer)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 14.25 in (36.2 cm)Diameter: 6.5 in (16.51 cm)
  • Style:
    Neoclassical (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    Circa 1775
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    Katonah, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: SKU000011761stDibs: LU866543366502

More From This Seller

View All
Pair of Antique Wedgwood & Bentley Black Basalt Jars England, Circa 1775
By Wedgwood & Bentley
Located in Katonah, NY
This pair of Wedgwood & Bentley black basalt urns, crafted at the renowned Etruria factory around 1775, exemplifies the refined simplicity of neoclassical design. The smooth, tapered...
Category

Antique Late 18th Century English Neoclassical Jars

Materials

Stoneware

Pair Antique Wedgwood Black Basalt Vases England Late 18th Century Circa 1775
By Wedgwood & Bentley
Located in Katonah, NY
This exceptional pair of antique black basalt vases was made by Wedgwood & Bentley in the late 18th century, circa 1775. The vases are sculpted in deep solid relief with bacchanalia...
Category

Antique Late 18th Century English Neoclassical Urns

Materials

Stoneware

Wedgwood Egyptian Jug Decorated in Black Basalt and Rosso Antico
By Wedgwood
Located in Katonah, NY
This special edition Wedgwood ale jug is decorated in Egyptian Revival style, showing a sphinx to either side of a firebird in flight. The material is Wedwood's Black Basalt stonewar...
Category

Antique Mid-19th Century English Egyptian Revival Pitchers

Materials

Stoneware

Antique Spode Porcelain Urn Made in England circa 1810
By Spode
Located in Katonah, NY
This significant Regency period campana-shaped urn is finely painted with fabulous pink and yellow roses and small blue forget-me-nots overflowing from a green basket. The reverse ...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century British Regency Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Wedgwood Drabware Sugar Bowl and Stand England, circa 1825
By Wedgwood
Located in Katonah, NY
Wedgwood made this drabware sugar bowl and stand in Staffordshire, England, in the first quarter of the 19th century, circa 1825. The design is simple and elegant, and the decoratio...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Decorative Bowls

Materials

Earthenware

Pair Antique Staffordshire Pottery Vases Zeus & Hera with Chariots Circa 1880
By Staffordshire
Located in Katonah, NY
This exquisite pair of antique Staffordshire pottery vases, made in England circa 1880, features mythological scenes of Zeus and Hera riding in their chariots, set against a dramatic...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Neoclassical Vases

Materials

Pottery

You May Also Like

Wedgwood Black Basalt Two-Handled Urn
By Wedgwood
Located in New Orleans, LA
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...
Category

Antique 19th Century English Urns

Materials

Ceramic, Stoneware

Exhibited Wedgwood & Bentley Basalt Stoneware Four Handle Vase
By Wedgwood & Bentley
Located in Asheville, NC
Etruria, Staffordshire, c.1780, thrown in four parts and bolted to a plinth built of five small slabs, decorated by molded handles with horned returns to high relief goats’ masks with drapery festoons, circular seal at bolt impressed “WEDGWOOD & BENTLEY: ETRURIA,” 18 in. Provenance: Dr. Ellis F. Rubin & Suzanne Borow Rubin. Exhibited at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC in 2020 and illustrated in the accompanying literature, “Classic Black: The Basalt Sculptures of Wedgwood...
Category

Antique 1780s English Neoclassical Pottery

Materials

Pottery

Large Wedgwood Solid Black Basalt Neoclassical Jardiniere
By Wedgwood
Located in Doraville, GA
Wedgwood black basalt jardiniere, made in England around 1900. The jardiniere has a floral banded border above fruiting grapevine festoons terminatin...
Category

Early 20th Century English Neoclassical Revival Planters, Cachepots and ...

Materials

Ceramic

Swagged Basalt Vase, Wedgwood, circa 1775
By Wedgwood
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
A particularly successful vase in black basalt, with simple, classical deocration or swags and berries & leaves. This vase comes from the Wedgwood & Bentley period, during which the ...
Category

Antique Late 18th Century English Neoclassical Pottery

Materials

Stoneware

Wedgwood Black and Gilt Basalt Covered Potpourri Vase, circa 1870
Located in New York, NY
A wedgwood black and gilt basalt covered Potpourri vase, circa 1870.
Category

Antique 1870s English Neoclassical Vases

Materials

Ceramic

Wedgwood Black Basalt Neoclassical Planter Jardiniere 19th Century
Located in Nottingham, GB
Wedgwood Black Basalt Neoclassical Planter Jardiniere 19th Century Good condition, as seen. From a private collection. Wedgwood Black Basalt is a type of stoneware developed by the ...
Category

Antique 19th Century Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières

Materials

Porcelain