Minneapolis Institute of Art

Cup and saucer

Manufacturer: Wedgwood

Date

c. 1780

Medium

Basalt ware (black stoneware)

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Around 1768, Josiah Wedgwood perfected a black stoneware ceramic that he called black basalt, after a type of hard black volcanic rock that forms when lava cools. Black basalt was used for Wedgwood’s first strictly ornamental pieces, such as busts, plaques, and vases, and eventually also for functional domestic objects like this teapot, cup, and saucer. England, Europe

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