{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1813018"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1813018/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1813018","accessionNumber":"C.325-2025","objectType":"Vase","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"The Portland vase is one of the most well-known Wedgwood ceramic designs and is seen as the culmination of Josiah Wedgwood I’s (1730-1795) career as a ceramics manufacturer. A technical and artistic feat in blue and white jasperware, Wedgwood’s iconic design was itself a copy of a Roman cameo glass vase, considered in the 18th century to be one of the greatest works of antiquity. This version by Samuel Alcock & Co., made around 65 years after Josiah I’s, joins this story of reproduction and reveals the enduring popularity of this classical design.\n\r\nThe original Portland vase, also known as the Barberini vase, was discovered in a Roman tomb around 1600 and came to Britain via the Ambassador to Naples, Sir William Hamilton (1730 – 1803). It became an overnight sensation. Made from two layers of coloured glass, the upper white layer was carved away into a low-relief cameo, resulting in white figures on a dark blue background. It was purchased from Hamilton in 1784 by the prolific collector Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, the Dowager Duchess of Portland, and following her death was bought by her son the Third Duke of Portland, to keep it in the family. Josiah I requested to borrow the vase from the Duke so that he could copy it in jasper – a unique type of stoneware clay that he developed in the 1770s. For Josiah I, the process of creating his own version meant surpassing the arts of the ancient world and revealing the technical and artistic superiority of his ceramics factory.\n\r\nIn 1786 Josiah I started work on his copy, and in 1790, following almost five years of experiments, trials and tests, the first editions were launched to a select group of subscribers. The colour of the clay was designed to emulate the original vase as closely as possible, and the handles were carefully modelled to have the same asymmetry of the original. Moulds were made from the original vase to ensure absolute accuracy, with each sculptural element recreated using plaster and wax models. The large number of experimental trials reveal the technical difficulties Josiah I encountered and his obsession with perfecting the piece. A first edition vase and many of the trials, moulds and models survive in the V&A Wedgwood Collection, along with later variations of the vase, which remained in production by Wedgwood over its long history.\n\r\nThis version, made by the Staffordshire pottery of Samuel Alcock and Co., represents yet another artistic interpretation of the Portland vase and shows how the vase continued to inspire manufacturers. Samuel Alcock was a Staffordshire native and operated his pottery in Burslem from 1828-1859. The firm made wares in earthenware, porcelain and parian and were well known for relief-moulded jugs. We know Alcock admired the Portland vase as he owned a 19th-century version by Wedgwood (sold at auction on 19 November 2025, Lot 119, Fine Glass and British Ceramics, Bonhams). This was most likely a gift from Josiah I’s descendant John Wedgwood, who attended a ball held in 1840 to celebrate the opening of a new building at Alcock’s pottery.\n\r\nIn homage to Wedgwood, Alcock produced various wares inspired by the Portland vase, including a relief-moulded jug with white figures on a lavender ground, an example of which is in the V&A collection (C.338-2009). Unlike the jug, which emulates Wedgwood’s jasperware, the vase copy is decorated in red and black colours applied using transfer-prints and underglaze painting. This is a departure from the cameo aesthetic and instead imitates ancient Greek and Roman pottery. Josiah I also produced jasperware in this colour scheme, known as ‘rosso antico’. Interestingly the vase also features large areas of mottling on the black ground. Although some pieces are uniformly black (C.43-1969), other Alcock vases in the Greek style also have this mottled surface (CIRC.628-1924), suggesting it was a deliberate technique to create the impression of an archaeological find, rather than an accidental misapplication of black underglaze. This aesthetically distinct version connects the Portland vase back to its ancient Roman roots, reimagining the original glass vase in the pottery of its time, and creating a striking object for a new Victorian audience.","physicalDescription":"","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Samuel Alcock & Co.","id":"A9213"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"Earthenware","id":"x29356"}],"techniques":[{"text":"Printed","id":"AAT53922"},{"text":"Painted","id":"x30138"},{"text":"Glazed","id":"AAT53914"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Earthenware, printed, painted and glazed","categories":[{"text":"Ceramics","id":"THES48982"},{"text":"Vases","id":"THES48879"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"CER","id":"THES48594"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"UpSmallStudio","id":"THES393032"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Vase","id":"AAT132254"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Staffordshire","id":"x29181"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1855-9","earliest":"1855-01-01","latest":"1859-12-31"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"25.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"18.4","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"S. A. & Co.","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"On base"}],"objectHistory":"Formerly in the collection of David Drew.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Copy of the Portland vase, earthenware, transfer-printed and painted, Samuel Alcock & Co., Staffordshire, about 1855-9","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"The shape and decoration copies the Portland Vase. ","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["C.325-2025"],"accessionNumberNum":"325","accessionNumberPrefix":"C","accessionYear":2025,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-03-18","recordCreationDate":"2025-12-11","availableToBook":false}}