Wedgwood | Jasperware | Rectangular Tray | Light Blue | Classical Figures in Bas-Relief | England | 1963

Josiah Wedgwood developed Jasperware in 1774 and never quite let go of it — which is another way of saying he got it right the first time.

Wedgwood Jasperware remains one of the most recognisable ceramic bodies in English manufacture. Developed in the early 1770s after sustained experimentation, it is an unglazed stoneware of fine, matte texture, coloured throughout and decorated with applied white reliefs derived from classical sources. The pale blue ground — Wedgwood Blue — became the defining colour of the range and has remained in continuous production since its introduction. The reliefs, associated with designers such as John Flaxman, draw on Greek and Roman imagery and establish the distinctly neoclassical character of the ware. The impressed backstamp “Wedgwood / Made in England / 63” dates this example to 1963.

This rectangular tray is formed with gently canted corners and a low raised rim. The pale blue ground carries a central applied white bas-relief group depicting three classical figures in a musical scene: a seated female figure playing a lyre, a standing female figure with one arm raised holding a staff, and a youth beside a flowering tree. The composition is set against an uninterrupted ground, allowing the relief to read clearly. The rim is bordered with a continuous applied white laurel and berry band, meeting cleanly at each corner. The reverse is unglazed in the characteristic grey-blue tone of Jasperware.

The tray is in excellent condition. The ground is even and free from scratching, the relief work is crisp and intact with no losses, and the laurel border is complete throughout.

Key Details

• Maker: Wedgwood
• Body: Jasperware
• Material: Unglazed stoneware
• Origin: England
• Date: 1963
• Colour: Light blue (Wedgwood Blue)
• Decoration: White applied bas-relief classical figures with laurel border
• Form: Rectangular tray
• Size: 15.5 cm L × 8.3 cm W × 1.5 cm H
• Weight: 146 g
• Backstamp: Impressed — Wedgwood / Made in England / 63
• Condition: Excellent

Collector Appeal

Dated mid-20th century example in classic Wedgwood Blue with clean, intact relief and border — a stable and recognisable collecting category with consistent demand.

The same blue, the same white figures, the same laurel border — made two centuries after Flaxman first drew them, and still entirely itself.