A simple red stoneware egg cup is transformed into a imaginative bit of archeological fantasy by the addition of an applied border of tiny Egyptian style hieroglyphs. A variety of Egyptian symbols and objects appear between repeated winged disc motifs. The foot is adorned with a jagged ring of triangles, another attempt to create an archaic effect.

While the hieroglyphs--copied from engravings or spurious artifacts-- have lost all of their original meaning, they are amazingly detailed. Therein lies the fascination and fun. The pattern includes tiny crocodiles, owls, sphinxes, falcons, hounds, as well as mysterious ancient objects. While the Wedgwood family had ties to the intellectual element of society, the fantasy element of these wares seems intended to feed a more popular and less stringent Egyptomania.

After Josiah II took over the reins of the Wedgwood works, he revived interest in the rosso antico body which had been developed, but  then neglected, by his father. This renewed production--lucky for us all--coincided with the taste for Egyptian antiquities stimulated by Napoleon's exploits and the documentary works of Baron Vivant-Denon and others.

While the Egyptian mode was mostly employed by Wedgwood for decorative pieces, the hieroglyphic border was used for tea and other table wares. The extension of the pattern to the humble egg cup is, however, unexpected. This is the first we have encountered and can safely--we believe--be considered rare.

Other examples of Wedgwood's Egyptian revival tablewares are available elsewhere on this site. (See final photo.)