In Gallery 556
Wedgwood's swan vases were the most imposing products that the factory made in the last century.
The models in the Museum, made eight years apart, present a rather more unified and harmonious ensemble: in each instance an egg-shaped vase, rising from a clump of reeds and seemingly supported by three swans, is closed by a mound supporting a swan preening an outstretched wing.
Semitranslucent turquoise blue and yellow "majolica" glazes are used on the bases, handles, and covers. The Wedgwood archives do not record the designer, but the French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse( 1824-1887) has been suggested.
In Gallery 556
Wedgwood's swan vases were the most imposing products that the factory made in the last century.
The models in the Museum, made eight years apart, present a rather more unified and harmonious ensemble: in each instance an egg-shaped vase, rising from a clump of reeds and seemingly supported by three swans, is closed by a mound supporting a swan preening an outstretched wing.
Semitranslucent turquoise blue and yellow "majolica" glazes are used on the bases, handles, and covers. The Wedgwood archives do not record the designer, but the French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse( 1824-1887) has been suggested.