All Fired Up

In Georgian Britain, royal patronage was everything. From the Romantic artists and writers to the Regency architects who shaped our city streets and country houses, careers were shaped by access to the crown’s vast wealth.

So, when the great English potter Josiah Wedgwood first sold a tea service to Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, and was granted permission to style himself as “Potter to Her Majesty”, one would expect that he would be more than satisfied. After all, his namesake company was even allowed to sell the new creamware that he had formulated as “Queen’s Ware”, a virtual guarantee of financial success in the mid-to-late 18th century.

However, it wasn’t enough for Wedgwood who had far bigger ambitions. In 1769, he announced his aim to become “Vase Maker General to the Universe”.

Setting aside the logistical challenges of shipping precious ceramics into outer space, it was a claim in keeping