Jasperware

The term Jasperware or Jasper Ware is used for a type of pottery first developed Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770s. It is usually described as stoneware, although some authorities describe it as a type of porcelain. It was named after the mineral jasper which was thought to be the critical component of the clay, although modern analysis now show that it’s barium sulphate that is the key ingredient.

It has a distinctive matte finish and is produced in a number of colours, the most famous of which is the pale blue that became known as ‘Wedgwood Blue’.

Wedgwood jasperware is characterised by relief decoration usually in white (although sometimes in other colours), which are produced in moulds and applied to the pots as sprigging.

John Flaxman Jr, a neoclassical sculptor and designer, started to provide Wedgwood with designs from 1775. Sir William Hamilton’s collection of ancient Greek vases provided inspiration for Flaxman as well as Roman cameo glass. A particularly famous example of this was the ‘Portland Vase’ which was brought to England by Sir William Hamilton and lent to Wedgwood who spent four years painstakingly reproducing it in black and white jasperware.