Wedgwood | Light Blue Jasperware | Spade-Shaped Bon-Bon Dish | Classical Figures | 1978

Wedgwood | Light Blue Jasperware | Spade-Shaped Bon-Bon Dish | Classical Figures | 1978

A piece that can be dated to a specific year carries a different kind of presence — it is no longer simply old, but anchored to a particular moment.

Wedgwood’s Jasperware, perfected by Josiah Wedgwood and introduced in 1775, has remained one of the most recognisable ceramic bodies ever produced. Its matt, unglazed surface and applied white relief decoration were conceived in the spirit of ancient cameos, and its characteristic decorative language has endured through successive generations of production.

Small dishes of this kind served as pin trays, bon-bon dishes and dressing-table pieces. The base bears a Wedgwood mark with the numerical date code 78, interpreted as 1978.

The dish is spade-shaped, with a softly pointed base and a gently curved upper edge. The ground is an even pale Wedgwood blue throughout. The centre is decorated with an applied white sprigged group of three classical figures — a kneeling draped figure reaching toward a standing semi-draped figure, accompanied by a second standing figure. The rim is bordered with a continuous oak leaf and acorn wreath, with small rosette terminals at the apex and base.

There are no chips, cracks, or losses to the applied decoration. The surface is clean and even. Condition is excellent.

Key Details

• Maker: Wedgwood
• Body: Jasperware (unglazed stoneware)
• Ground colour: Light blue
• Decoration: White sprigged relief — three-figure classical group, oak leaf and acorn wreath border, rosette terminals
• Backstamp: Impressed “WEDGWOOD ® / MADE IN ENGLAND” with date code 78 — produced 1978
• Dimensions: 11.3 cm × 11.3 cm
• Weight: 108 g
• Condition: Excellent; no chips, cracks or losses

Collector Appeal

A spade-shaped Jasperware dish with a crisp three-figure classical group framed by an oak leaf and acorn wreath, dated by its 1978 mark.

More Wedgwood Jasperware from the shop: Wedgwood Jasperware collection.

Wedgwood’s date codes are a quiet record of continuity — a factory noting not just what it made, but exactly when it chose to make it.