Article
Newsletter: Spring 1982
The Portland Vase, so-called because it once belonged to the Duchess of Portland, is made of cameo glass . Stylistically, it is to be dated shortly after 30 B.C., and is a famous example of Roman craftsmanship of the Augustan period. The meaning of the scenes has been the subject of discussion and scholarly controversy for generations. Within the realm of mythology, the subject has been thought to refer to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis; within the realm of Roman history and political propaganda, the figures have been identified as Apollo, Venus, and others, with reference to Augustus's claim to divine origin.
From 1786 to 1790 Josiah Wedgwood, the Staffordshire potter, created an edition of 29 copies of the vase in his "jasper ware." When the original glass vase was broken in 1845 by a... visitor in the British Museum, Wedgwood's copy was the guide for its restoration. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the firm produced, and is producing, other editions of the vase. The rarest of these, the edition of 1877, was limited to fifteen copies; [this] is one of the few known to survive.
From 1786 to 1790 Josiah Wedgwood, the Staffordshire potter, created an edition of 29 copies of the vase in his "jasper ware." When the original glass vase was broken in 1845 by a... visitor in the British Museum, Wedgwood's copy was the guide for its restoration. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the firm produced, and is producing, other editions of the vase. The rarest of these, the edition of 1877, was limited to fifteen copies; [this] is one of the few known to survive.
