Porcelain and Earthenware. 243 



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the appropriate degrees of heat — the colors, and the curious chemi- 

 cal combinations, essential to their enduring the furnace, and incor- 

 porating with the glaze of the ware. In the oxides of metals, he 

 found an endless variety of hues ; and for his forms and ornaments 

 he took models of grace and beauty from the ancients. His imita- 

 tion of the Barberini or Portland vase, one of the most admired 

 remnants of antiquity, is sufficient alone, to insure him distinction, 

 in the annals of the arts. This elegant vase, was discovered in the 

 tomb of Alexander Severus, and is believed to be the work of Gre- 

 cian genius. It is a semi-transparent urn, of a deep blue color, with 

 brilliant opaque white ornaments upon it in bas relief, cut by the lap- 

 idary in the same manner as the antique cameos on colored grounds.* 

 Mr. Parkes states " that several of the nobility and gentry, being de- 

 sirous to possess a copy of this beautiful specimen of ancient art, en- 

 gaged Mr. Wedgewood to attempt an imitation of it; and he actu- 

 ally produced a vase of porcelain, which for elegance and beauty 

 was considered fully equal to the original." The height of the vase 

 is ten inches, its diameter at the broadest part only six inches. It 

 has two curiously wrought handles, one on each side. The sculp- 

 ture is in the greatest perfection ; the figures full of grace and expres- 

 sion — every stroke and delineation, as fine, sharp, and perfect, as 



any drawn by a pencil. 



It cannot be too often repeated, that a knowledge of chemical sci- 

 ence, is essential to success in this art. Mr. Chisholme, an associate 

 of Mr. Wedgewood, and a superior chemist, devoted his whole life 

 to this business. Mr. Wedgewood must be deemed a public bene- 

 factor. The great improvements, which he made in Earthenware, 

 and the low price at which he managed to have it afforded, almost 

 displaced foreign china ; while the poor dismissed their gourds and 

 wooden trenchers, for the enameled pitcher, the neat plate and tea- 

 cup, introducing into the cottage, taste, comfort, and cleanliness. 

 He refused to obtain patents, saying " the world is wide enough for 

 us all." Such are the excellent qualities and ornaments of the Staf- 

 fordshire ware, that it is now sought for, and employed in almost 

 every part of the world; even in the interior of Africa, Clapperton 

 found dishes of English manufacture. Not more than one sixth of 

 the goods manufactured, are consumed in Great Britain — five sixths 



* It was long believed to b« porcelain, but is ascertained to be glass.— Lardner 

 and Parkes. 



Vol. XXVI.— No. 2. 32 



