A black bodied stoneware creamer in a typical boat-shape form is made extraordinary by the...

A black bodied stoneware creamer in a typical boat-shape form is made extraordinary by the exceptional quality of its relief in the "rosso antico" red stoneware. Very finely detailed tableaus depict dramatic, even sombre, scenes from antiquity. "Ulysses Staying the Chariot of Victory" is drawn from the Trojan War. On the reverse is a classical design supplied to Wedgwood by Lady Elizabeth Templetown, "Friendship Consoling Affliction." Equally crisp decorative elements finish of the composition. The piece suggests the lady's tea table less than it does the study of connoisseur aristocrat.

Because Wedgwood developed a dark brown body to use with rosso antico--a body that at time...

Because Wedgwood developed a dark brown body to use with rosso antico--a body that at times is so dark that it appears to be black--we are careful about calling this creamer basalt. The appearance of the creamer, however, completely suggests the better known basalt formulation. In any case, rosso on black is quite a bit more scarce than the reverse. Both combinations were used by Wedgwood for works suggestive of the classical tradition.

An attached label documents this piece's inclusion in a 1976 Wedgwood exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.