Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Wedgwood Love

My husband and I are currently updating our apartment and in one of my furniture-hunting expeditions, I came across this lovely, heart-shaped gem of a small plate:



It was love at first sight. This little piece was in a display cabinet by the cashier and was behind other trinkets. The color called out to me, as I'm presently in a blue-white phase. I was afraid to ask how much it was -- it looked too precious to be cheap, and in a thrift store, you know that something that's encased in glass is bound to be valuable. I was enamored enough to ask and the shopkeep immediately brought it out and quoted a price. It was priced at Php 500 (a little over $10), which I thought was expensive for a thrift shop find and I was ready to put it down and do a little sour-graping. Just when I was about to ask the owner to put it back in the cabinet, she immediately added that it's now at Php 200 (about $4) due to the largish chip at the back of the plate.



I didn't care about the chip, I whipped out my wallet and gave her the money. I love everything about the plate, inspite of the damage. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the back is embossed with the word Wedgwood. When I was younger, I was enamored by a set of Wedgwood plates that I still think of to this day but I failed convince my mom to buy the exquisite set because a) it was horrifically expensive and b) my mom had plenty of dinner sets.



I researched some more of the one I just bought and I learned that I have a Jasperware, one of Josiah Wedgwood's enduring and popular inventions. Jasperware is a type of stoneware with a matte finish with white handcrafted embellishments and features ancient Greek or Roman scenes.



Here's a video of Wedgwood craftsmen making exquisite Jasperware by hand

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