Progressive potter Josiah Wedgwood (1730–95) on a portrait medallion. As well as pioneering new types of pottery, he also imbued his work with political radicalism
IMAGE © FISKARS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOMAS LOOF. V&A WEDGWOOD COLLECTION/BRIDGEMAN
Etruria, Wedgwood’s pottery factory in Stoke-on-Trent
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On 26 September 1792, Earl Macartney set sail from Portsmouth aboard HMS Lion, accompanied by the East Indiaman Hindostan. After stalling in squally weather off Torbay, they skirted Brittany before sailing south to Madeira, round the Cape of Good Hope and then east to the Chinese port city of Tientsin (Tianjin). Counted among the passengers were nearly 100 of Georgian Britain’s finest brains – natural philosophers, instrument makers and draughtsmen – and, as importantly, some 600 crates of artefacts and objects carefully chosen to showcase the advanced thinking and industrial might of Great Britain.
A taste of Britain A ceramic cauliflower teapot with a vivid green glaze, c1760, designed by Wedgwood. His vases were sent to China to encourage a trade deal