Wedgwood | Light Blue Jasperware | Pin Dish | Classical Figure

Wedgwood | Light Blue Jasperware | Pin Dish | Classical Figure

Wedgwood blue has outlasted every decorating trend of the past two and a half centuries, which suggests it was never quite a trend to begin with.

Wedgwood’s Jasperware body, first perfected by Josiah Wedgwood in 1775, remains one of the most consistent and recognisable products in the history of English ceramics. The unglazed matte stoneware, coloured throughout in its characteristic pale blue, was developed specifically to carry applied white sprigged relief decoration in the manner of classical cameo work. Small pin dishes, trinket plates, and vide-poches of this type were produced continuously through the twentieth century, intended as both functional dressing table wares and decorative objects.

The dish is of circular, shallow form with a flat base and a gently raised rim. The ground is an even Wedgwood blue throughout. At the centre is a single applied white sprigged figure — a draped classical female standing beside a tree, one arm raised in a poised, balanced stance. The rim is bordered by a continuous applied laurel wreath in white relief, the leaves and berries cleanly defined and evenly applied around the circumference.

The dish is in excellent condition. There are no chips, cracks, or losses to the applied relief. The surface remains clean, with no staining or discolouration.

Key Details

• Maker: Wedgwood
• Body: Jasperware (unglazed stoneware)
• Ground colour: Light blue (Wedgwood blue)
• Decoration: White sprigged relief — central classical figure; laurel wreath border
• Backstamp: Impressed “WEDGWOOD ® / MADE IN ENGLAND” — the “Made in England” wording became general in Wedgwood marks from about 1908 and continued in later production, so it gives an earliest date rather than a precise one
• Diameter: 11 cm
• Weight: 104 g
• Condition: Excellent

Collector Appeal

A small dish made with the same care as larger pieces: the central figure is crisp and the laurel border complete.

More Wedgwood Jasperware from the shop: Wedgwood Jasperware collection.

Small objects made with the same attention as large ones are a reliable indicator of a manufacturer that understood the difference between standards and occasions.