The Dancing Hours Tricolor Jasperware Vase by Wedgwood

This impressive tricolor jasperware vase from Wedgwood was designed by celebrated English sculptor, illustrator and designer John Flaxman, Jr. who was considered a leading artist of the Neoclassical style in England. The design is both striking and well-balanced. Composed of a baluster form, the shoulder is flanked by loop handles with extremely rare and exquisitely figured bearded mask terminals, while a conical lid boasting a masterfully colored lilac spire finial radiating stiff-leaf tips covers the form. Bold neoclassical patterns on the body frame the intricate Dancing Hours frieze, which is applied with exceptional delicacy in the central register. The frieze is applied in white high relief depicting eight frolicking Muses reserved on a green ground, dramatically highlighting the flowing robes and sinuous lines of the dancing women. The entire creation rests on a white socle and square plinth with classical green and lilac ornamentation. Wedgwood's tricolor pottery is highly celebrated and incredibly rare. To find a piece of this size and quality is truly remarkable.

The Dancing Hours depicts the Greek goddesses of time called the Horae, representing hours in the day. This design is based on a Roman Neo-Attic style white marble frieze that currently resides in the Louvre. A Wedgwood vase of this same model in black basalt resides in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), and a similar vase of the same model is pictured in Wedgwood Jasper, New York, 1994, by Robin Reilly.

Impressed uppercase mark

Circa 1900

9" wide x 9" deep x 21 4/5“ high

Provenance
Skinner, Boston, 2000