Wedgwood
Distinguished House of Wedgwood
Dolphin Candlestick Left
- Gift Boxed
- Height: 24cm
- Length: 25cm
- Queen's Ware
The Dolphin Candlesticks are a perennial favourite with collectors of Wedgwood. Over the years they have appeared in many guises. Wedgwood has produced versions in Black basalt and Queen's Ware as well as Rosso Antico and Majolica.
The Dolphin itself occupies a special place in the hearts and imaginations of many people and has done so for millennia. It was a particular object of veneration in Classical antiquity. Dolphins figure in many of the Greek myths, frequently rescuing those lost at sea. Many seals and coins of the period show a man or boy riding a Dolphin. The Dolphin was also the messenger of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea.
As the most intelligent of marine mammals Dolphins today still exert a strong attraction for humanity. Many believe in the therapeutic benefits of swimming with Dolphins and there is no doubting the tremendous entertainment value in a school of Dolphins riding a bow wave or performing in a Marine park. We can therefore understand well why ancient Greek seamen saw Dolphins as a good omen.
This enthusiasm for the Dolphin over the centuries has ensured that it has a regular presence as a decorative element and was particularly popular in French interiors as well as in Italy and England. In France it was so well loved that it became the title for the heir to the throne, the Dauphin. Dolphins have made many appearances in the output of Wedgwood, as supporters for tripod vases, such as the tripod lamps and pastille burners, as well as in Jasper ornamentation and tableware patterns. The Dolphin candlesticks are a particularly fine example of the fruits of the brilliant convergence that Josiah Wedgwood achieved between the public appetite at the time for neo-classicism, aesthetic form and function. It is yet more fitting that it is said that Josiah himself modelled them.
The Dolphin Candlesticks produced to mark the 250th Anniversary are made in Queen's Ware, one of the iconic creations of Josiah Wedgwood. Originally known as cream coloured ware or cream ware, Queen's Ware was to provide the backbone for Josiah's production of 'useful wares'. In 1766, some months after the delivery to Queen Charlotte of a cream ware tea set, Josiah Wedgwood gained the appointment of 'Potter to her majesty' and cream ware was renamed Queen's Ware. Like many of Josiah's creations Queen's Ware has remained popular to this day in a variety of table ware and ornamental guises, transcending time and fashion
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