Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2009.7 |
Object Name |
Pin |
Title |
Pin with Portrait of Benjamin Franklin |
Artist |
Hackwood, William (probable) |
School |
Wedgwood |
Description |
Profile view of Benjamin Franklin in black basalt. Franklin is depicted in a classical manner. Inset in gold-framed pin. Marked "Wedgwood & Bentley" and "Franklin" on reverse. |
Label |
Made by the famed Wedgwood ceramics firm, this jasperware medallion was marketed as the "Classic Franklin." The artist was probably William Hackwood, a leading modeller who worked for the company for 63 years. Josiah Wedgwood, the firm's founder, described Hackwood as "Ingenious." In keeping with Wedgwood's strong support of the American Revolution, the company produced at least eight portraits of Franklin in the late 18th century. This portrait may be a loose adaptation of Isaac Gosset's 1766 wax profile in the APS collection (60.S.1). Wedgwood mentioned in a 1777 letter to his business partner that he was considering making a new Franklin image, without the "formidable wig and stiff English coat and waistcoat" seen in the Gosset portrait. |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift at the bequest of B. Franklin Kahn, 2008. |
Search Terms |
18th century eighteenth century jewelry Founding Father sculpture |