Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.S.41 |
Object Name |
Medallion |
Title |
Medallion with Portrait of George Washington |
School |
Wedgwood |
Date |
19th c. |
Description |
Profile portrait of George Washington, identical to 1972.2496. White on black dip jasperware, in depression in shaped velvet-covered wooden board. |
Label |
This profile portrait of George Washington is derived from a 1789 medal by Pierre Simon Benjamin Duvivier that commemorates the commander-in-chief's retaking of Boston from the British in March of 1776. Duvivier based his portrayal of Washington on a 1785 bust of Washington, sculpted at Mount Vernon by Jean Antoine Houdon. The Duvivier medal was one of a series by different artists honoring revolutionary heroes, commissioned by the Continental Congress and executed in Paris. Since Josiah Wedgwood, founder of the famed English ceramics firm, was a supporter of revolutionary ideals, his firm produced a number of medallions representing the American founding fathers. The original Wedgwood medallion of Washington was made in 1790. A. H. Bentley, a sculptor at Wedgwood in the early 20th century, may have molded the APS's medallion. Bentley reproduced several earlier medallions, and his replicas are often mistaken for the 18th-century originals. |
Medium |
Ceramic |
Dimensions |
H-8.25 W-6.25 inches |
Dimension Details |
Oval Box: 12.25 x 10.25 x 1.25 |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society |
Search Terms |
19th century nineteenth century sculpture Founding Father profile president |