Written by Audra Shalles · Photography by Katie Graves and Stephanie Welbourne Steele
For more than two centuries, celebratory toasts, witty conversation, and even friendly debate about world events have flown across elegant tables set with ceramics crafted by one of the world’s most distinctive makers. Established in Staffordshire, England, in 1759, Josiah Wedgwood’s eponymous brand quickly developed a reputation for innovative manufacturing techniques and inspired designs that found a following with both working-class households and the royal family.
King George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, was particularly taken with the manufacturer’s creamware. In 1765, she ordered a tea-and-coffee set for the palace, and the products pleased her so greatly that Josiah Wedgwood was allowed to adopt the title “Potter to Her Majesty.” A savvy businessman and marketer, Josiah also secured permission to refer to the ivory-colored earthenware as “Queen’s Ware,” a designation sparking even greater demand for the product.
“[Josiah Wedgwood is] the greatest man who ever, in any age or country, applied himself to the important work of uniting art with industry.”
William Gladstone
A Table for Luminaries
Since those early years, Wedgwood collections have been used during meals for many other luminaries and heads of state, including Russian Empress Catherine the Great, who commissioned a dinner-and-dessert service for use at her summer palace, and former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who ordered a 1,296-piece dinner service for the White House. More recently, the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld once procured one of the firm’s rare Art Deco tea-and-coffee sets designed by Paul Follot.
The Art of Jasperware
In addition to products crafted to bring beauty to the table, the company also became known for decorative vases, cameos, candlesticks, and other accents fashioned from one of Josiah Wedgwood’s most important creations, jasperware. Introduced in the 1770s after thousands of experiments, the unglazed, matte-finish stoneware perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the period with its neoclassical style, distinctive pigments, and bas-relief motifs depicting images from classical antiquity.
Although the natural state of jasperware is white, it can be stained throughout to achieve a particular color. The most recognizable shade is Wedgwood Blue, an airy tone akin to clear summer skies, but the pottery has also been produced in dark blue, black, sage green, lilac, yellow, and rarest of all, crimson.
Collecting Wedgwood
Whatever the hue, jasperware looks lovely layered with more modern objects and instantly lends both personality and sophistication to a space. New collectors can find these treasures in a range of styles and prices at antiques shops and estate sales. Items should always be inspected closely for cracks or chipping and bear the heritage brand’s hallmark on the bottom.
“Beautiful forms and compositions are not made by chance, nor can they ever, in any material, be made at small expense. A composition for cheapness and not excellence of workmanship is the most frequent and certain cause of the rapid decay and entire destruction of arts and manufacturers.”
Josiah Wedgwood
This story appears in the Autumn 2026 issue of Southern Lady. Subscribe to receive every quarterly issue in print.
