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, first perfected by Josiah Wedgwood in 1775, has remained one of the most recognisable ceramic bodies ever produced. Its matte, unglazed surface and applied white relief decoration were conceived to echo ancient cameo glass, and the formula has changed remarkably little since.

Small spade-shaped dishes of this kind were produced throughout the twentieth century as pin trays, bon-bon dishes, and dressing table pieces. The impressed two-digit date code to the base of this example fixes its manufacture precisely to 1978 — a level of specificity not always available in decorative ceramics.

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

Collector Appeal

Dated Jasperware pieces offer a more defined collecting framework than earlier, less precisely marked examples. The combination of a classic Wedgwood form, intact relief work, and clear year mark makes this a reliable entry-level collectible with consistent decorative appeal.

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.