Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries

Classic Black is a fascinating exploration of the inspiration behind, and development of, classically inspired sculpture and other ornamental wares in black basalt, the famous stoneware perfected by Josiah Wedgwood in 1768 and then produced by other prominent Staffordshire potters as well. Wedgwood, with prescience, said of his new creation: ‘Black is Sterling and will last forever.’



This volume presents approximately 120 examples of ornamental black basalt, including portrait busts, statues, and vases, ewers, and other fully three-dimensional, ornamental forms. Works in low relief include tablets, plaques, medallions, and cameos. The volume also features essays by renowned subject specialists and individual, fully illustrated catalogue entries which will be grouped into three chapters and organized according to the era―Classical Antiquity, 16th- and 17th-Centuries, 18th Century―of the design sources used by Wedgwood and his contemporaries to create their basalt wares.