Elizabeth I 18th century

This is a jasperware cameo of Elizabeth I made by Wedgwood and Bentley, sometime between 1769 and 1780. Jasperware was developed by Josiah Wedgwood as a new kind of stoneware that could be stained with metallic oxides to create different colors. Here we see a blue background with a white bas-relief portrait of the queen in profile. The image itself creates meaning through visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. England in the late 1700s was a country obsessed with its own history, and Elizabeth I was seen as a golden age. This cameo participates in the Georgian obsession with neoclassicism, antiquity and the aesthetic of the ‘antique’. For Wedgwood, producing refined objects with clear historical associations helped associate his new industrial processes with established cultural values. Understanding the role of such institutions and commercial relationships is fundamental to art history. Further research into the Wedgwood company, its clientele, and the broader cultural context would help us better understand the place of this cameo in 18th century England.