The Legacy of Wedgwood Ceramics

For those of you not hip to Wedgwood ceramics/pottery, it's an accomplished British founded company started by Josiah Wedgwood on May 1, 1759 via the Ivy house in Burlem, UK. In 1765 Josiah created a new stoneware form which impressed the British Queen consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The stoneware became widely known and galvanized people all over the world. Wedgwood fostered a number of industrial innovations for his company, notably a way of measuring kiln temperatures veraciously and creating new forms of porcelain called Black Basalt and Jasperware. Wedgwood's most acclaimed works is Jasperware. Jasperware was inspired by the Portland Vase which is a Roman vessel currently dated between AD 5 and AD 25. Jasperware is today moslty noted for it's intricate designs and patented colours. Today, the Wedgwood Prestige collection sells replicas of some of the original designs as well as contemporary neo-classical designed Jasperware. One of Wedgwood's designers was John Flaxmen would was an originator in his field of work. Many pieces carry the flaxmen styles to this day.

The Wedgwood brand and company stood in the family until 1980. In 1986, Waterford Glass Group acquired Wedgwood for $360 million US Dollars and became Waterford Wedgwood. On the 5th of January 2009, following years of financial dilemmas, Wedgwood was allocated into administrationwith 1800 employees remaining. On 27 February 2009, Waterford Wedgwood's receiver Deloitte announced that the NY-based private equity firm - KPS Capital Partners had purchased "certain Irish and UK assets of Waterford Wedgwood. In March 2009, KPS Capital Partners declared that it had acquired group assets in the UK, USA and moved a number of jobs to Asia to cut costs and return the firm to profitability.

I recently partnered up with a friend with a big Wedgwood collection. Check out pieces I now have access to sell and will ship directly to you from my household. If you Do NOT wish to buy through Ebay then contact me and we work on our own arrangements so not we do not endure extra charges.

Check out a video on how they make Wedgwood products. This particular video is pertaining to a vase. If your interested in that vase, I have one for sale.