View all examples of STONEWARE, BLACK BASALT
| Type Name: | STONEWARE, BLACK BASALT |
| Type Index: | STONEWARE |
| Production Origin: | ENGLAND |
| Date Range: | 1750-1820 |
| Defining Attributes: |
Thin, fine-grained black stoneware body, usually unglazed. Vessels can be wheel thrown, slip cast or molded, and turned on a lathe. Vessels are often decorated with die-stamped relieves of rococo floral, animal and human figures; sprig-molded designs, or geometric engine turning. |
| Vessel Forms: |
CUP SAUCER TEA POT VASE |
| Comments: | Black Basalt ware is a dry-bodied stoneware fired in an oxidizing atmosphere to produce a black fabric. It was originally used by Josiah Wedgwood for his famous Etruscan vases, and it continued later in use for such everyday items such as tea wares. Engine-turned designs date to after 1760. The black remained popular longer than the red Elers-Type stonewares, partially because it was fashionable to use it in times of mourning. |
| Published Definitions: | Noel Hume 1969, South 1977 |