Wedgwood Acanthus Black Basalt Bowl (9 words)

Magnificent Wedgwood black basalt bowl, of large and deep…
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Magnificent Wedgwood black basalt bowl, of large and deep proportions, exquisitely decorated with rows of acanthus leaves in bas relief, diameter 28 cm

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  • Bas Relief - Bas relief, or low relief, is a carved surface in which the figures project from the background, but only to a limited extent. When a relief is cut in from a flat surface of stone or wood, the background or field is lowered, leaving the unsculpted parts seemingly raised. There are other degrees of relief carving, including high relief and mid relief.
  • Basalt - Basalt is a hard, dense volcanic rock formed from the rapid cooling of basaltic lava, and makes up most of the earth's oceanic crust.

    However it is also the name given by Josiah Wedgwood in 1768 to a fine black unglazed porcelain which he called Wedgwood Black Basalt.

    Using this fine-grained stoneware he was able to produce copies of the newly excavated Etruscan pottery from Italy, with a lustrous and smooth, surface, and this new innovation proved to be a huge commercial success.
  • Acanthus - A stylized leaf motif, one of the primary decorative elements of classical Greek and Roman architecture, derived from the genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Mediterranean area. It is a common element in classical Greek and Roman design, and is often seen in Corinthian and Composite order columns and used as a decorative element in English, European and Australian furniture, particularly on the curve of a leg, and as decoration for a corbel.

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