Please note that some of our lectures continue to be held via video conferencing and all members receive an email notice with the ZOOM link. Otherwise, in-person meetings are held in the greater Boston area and are free and open to the public, unless otherwise indicated. Also note that the WSB now offers to its members the ability to enjoy past lectures they may have missed or wish to revisit. Please go to the Members Zone page and follow the easy instructions.
Next Meeting
Fixed on Vases…
The next lecture of the WSB takes place on Sunday, January 12, 2025, at 2:00 pm EST, via ZOOM, when Harwood (Woody) Johnson will present his talk on, “All Eyes Were Fixed on the Vases: A Gift of Wedgwood Jasper for the Emperor of China in 1793″. In 1793, King George III sent Lord Macartney, ambassador to China, on an embassy to the Qianlong emperor to negotiate more favorable trade relations between the two countries. The embassy’s ships included a 64-gun warship and Macartney took extravagant gifts for the emperor, including the most technologically advanced weaponry, scientific and mechanical instruments, and the latest and most fashionable British manufactures, all intended to impress the Chinese and foster desire for British goods. Among the gifts was an array of Wedgwood’s jasper. Surviving records in the Chinese and British archives allow us to picture the Wedgwood jasper presented to the emperor, and to imagine the entire scene. In the end, the Chinese do not seem to have been impressed with the latest and most dazzling examples of British ingenuity – with a single exception, the Wedgwood vases – upon which all eyes were fixed.
A collector and scholar, Woody Johnson became interested in Wedgwood more than 50 years ago. He operates circa1775, which offers fine eighteenth-century Wedgwood pottery. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Members will receive the ZOOM link a week prior to the meeting. If you are not a WSB member and would like to join, click onto the Become a Member tab above.
Meeting and Lecture Schedule
2024-2025 Meeting and Lecture Schedule
Sunday, September 15, 2024 at 2:00 P.M. Members’ Participation: “Annual Wedgwood Bits & Pieces”; to be held remotely via Zoom.
Sunday, November 17, 2024 at 2:00 P.M. Bryding Adams, Curator Emerita, BMA: “Lucille Stewart Beeson: Wedgwood Collector & Donor Extraordinaire”; to be held via Zoom
Sunday, January 12, 2025 at 2:00 P.M. Woody Johnson, Collector: “All Eyes Were Fixed on the Vases: A Gift of Wedgwood Jasper for the Emperor of China in 1793”; to be held via Zoom
Sunday, January 19, 2025 at 2:00 P.M. (Bonus meeting in conjunction with WSWDC), Wedgwood Curator: “Unpacking the V&A Wedgwood Collection, Part I”; to be held via Zoom
Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 2:00 P.M. Ben Miller, Curator Potteries Museum: “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue”; to be held via Zoom
Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 2:00 P. M. The Elizabeth Chellis Memorial Lecture: Wedgwood Curator: “Unpacking the V&A Wedgwood Collection, Part II; and “Annual General Meeting”; to be held via Zoom
Sunday, July 20, 2025. Members & Guests Participation: “Third Annual Summer Social”; to be held in-person at a venue t/b/d
Highlights from Previous Meetings
Wörlitz by Harwood Johnson
Having visited Wörlitz in Germany, Woody Johnson shared the history and images of the Wedgwood objects acquired by Leopold III Friedrich Franz, Prince von Anhalt-Dessau (1740–1817). The 18th century palace and its collections still stand intact to this day. The example here is a pair of Wedgwood & Bentley variegated vases on basalt plinths.
Classic Black by Brian Gallagher
Curator Brian Gallagher of the Mint Museum, Charlotte, N.C., presented “Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries,” an exhibit he staged along with an accompanying book. Shown here is Somnus (the sleeping baby).