Up for your consideration this beautiful Antique (1891-1908) Wedgwood Dark Blue & White Small - 4" Jasperware Pitcher, in a near excellent condition - no chips, cracks or repairs. Pitcher is approximately 4" tall and 3⅞" in diameter at widest.
Pitcher features two scenes from Greek, later Roman mythology:
First depicts Greek goddess of victory Nike (Victory) accompanied by a warrior offers an egg to a snake entwined around a column surmounted by the Trojan Palladium.
Second scene possibly depicts Hecuba, mother of Hector and Paris, engaging her women to kill the two children of Polymestor, the man who killed Hector. After that she threw herself into the sea and was transformed into "a she-dog with fiery eyes" and that she was buried in a "wretched" place called Kynosema (The Dog's Grave), a "landmark for sailors".
Jasperware, or jasper ware, is a type of pottery first developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770s. Usually described as stoneware, it has an nonglazed matte "biscuit" finish and is produced in a number of different colors, of which the most common and best known is a pale blue that has become known as Wedgwood Blue. Relief decorations in contrasting colors (typically in white) are characteristic of jasperware, giving a cameo effect. The reliefs are produced in molds and applied to the ware as sprigs.
After several years of experiments, Wedgwood began to sell jasperware in the late 1770s, at first as small objects, but from the 1780s adding large vases. It was extremely popular, and after a few years many other potters devised their own versions. Wedgwood continued to make it into the 21st century. The decoration was initially in the fashionable Neoclassical style, which was often used in the following centuries, but it could be made to suit other styles. Wedgwood turned to leading artists outside the usual world of Stafford-shire pottery for designs. High-quality portraits, mostly in profile, of leading personalities of the day were a popular type of object, matching the fashion for paper-cut silhouettes. The wares have been made into a great variety of decorative objects, but not typically as tableware or teaware.
Wedgwood jasperware can often be dated by the style of potter's marks, although there are exceptions to the rules:
Before 1860: Mark is "Wedgwood". Usually accompanied by other potter markings and a single letter.
1860 – 1929: A three-letter mark represents in order, the month, the potter, and the year. The year code starts mid-alphabet with the letter "O" for 1860, the letter "P" for 1861, etc., returning to "A" after "Z".
1891–1908: Marks are "Wedgwood", "England", separated.
If you check pictures 8 and 10 the pitcher marked Wedgwood (not Wedgewood, Marta Stuart said don't buy these) in serif typeface on one side of the bottom and then on the opposite side but in the same direction marked England and number 42.
1908–1969: Marks are "Wedgwood", "Made in England", separated, or "Wedgwood England" on small objects like thimbles. After 1929 the typeface of the word "Wedgwood" is changed to sans serif.
1970–present: Mark is "Wedgwood Made in England" as single stamp
I found no significant condition issues with the pitcher, but signs of previous use and ownership should be expected consistent with its vintage timeline and should be taken into consideration with age and ownership.
Please note: I will accept any reasonable offer.
Please check out all of the pictures and thank you for watching.