THIS VASE IS made of jasper ware, a type of unglazed stoneware that can be stained with colour before firing. Josiah Wedgwood (1730-95) perfected the technique by 1775, after a number of experiments.

Wedgwood made a number of examples of the Pegasus vase in jasper ware and in black basalt. With sharp relief decoration set against the smooth body surface, the vase is a masterpiece of the potter’s art, and Wedgwood took great pride in presenting it to the British Museum in 1786.

The decoration of the vase was modelled for Wedgwood by the artist John Flaxman junior (1755-1826). Flaxman adapted a variety of classical sources: the figures in the main scene are based on an engraving of a Greek vase of the fourth century вс, while the Medusa heads at the base of the handles are taken from an engraving of an antique sandal.



Made in the Etruria factory, Staffordshire, England, AD 1786
Ht 46.4 cm
Gift of Josiah Wedgwood