Hercules in the garden of the Hesperides, plaque
(c. 1785-1800)
Medium
stoneware (blue jasper)
Measurements
14.9 × 36.2 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1877
Gallery location
18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
In 1775 Wedgwood engaged the services of the young sculptor John Flaxman who was to become the leading Neoclassical sculptor of his age. The plaque was listed in Wedgwood’s 1787 catalogue as, ‘From a beautiful Etruscan vase in the collection of Sir William Hamilton, now in the British Museum’. The design, which appears on a Greek red-figure vase of the late fifth century BCE by the Meidias Painter, had been published by Pierre-François Hugues d’Hancarville. The published design was adjusted to a rectangular format and surrounded by an ornamental border which was freely adapted from ancient vase painting.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Staffordshire, England
Inscription
impressed (diagonally) in reverse c.: WEDGWOOD
Accession Number
231-D1M
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited