Wedgwood Society of Boston

Author: Peggy Kerner

  • Meeting 11/12/2023:

    “The Ark”: Wedgwood and European Refugees, 1933-1945

    The WSB will host a fascinating lecture on Sunday, November 12, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. EST, via video-conferencing. Lecturer Michael Ruddy, archives assistant and cataloguer at the V&A Wedgwood Collection, Stoke-on-Trent. England, will present “The Ark”: Wedgwood and European Refugees, 1933-1945”. Michael holds a MA in museum studies from the University of Leicester and earned his BA in history from the University of Derby.   

    Between 1933-1945, thousands of European refugees escaping Nazi persecution sought refuge in Britain. Due to an apathetic British Government, assistance for refugees was the responsibility of individuals, organizations, and businesses, such as Wedgwood. Unfortunately, their efforts have remained unexplored as have the stories of those arriving into their care. Through archival material and collections of the V&A Wedgwood Collection, this talk will reveal how the Wedgwood family and company worked resolutely to help those being oppressed across central Europe.

    Members will be sent the link to the Zoom session prior to the meeting. It can also be found in the Members Zone.

    If you are not a member, we invite you to become one and see what you’re missing. Go to the Become a Member page.

  • 2023–2024 Meeting & Lecture Schedule

    2023-2024 Program

    Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 2:00 P.M.  Members’ Participation: “Annual Wedgwood Bits & Pieces”; to be held in-person at the Dedham Museum and Archives, Dedham, MA 

    Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 2:00 P.M.  Michael Ruddy, V&A archives: “The Ark” Wedgwood and European Refugees, 1933-1945; to be held via Zoom 

    Sunday, January 14, 2024 at 2:00 P.M.  Adele Barnett, founder WSWDC: “Shell-Shock: Centuries of Wedgwood Shell Fancying”; to be held via Zoom 

    Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 2:00 P.M.  Aileen Dawson, former British Museum curator: “Wedgwood and Royalty”; to be held via Zoom 

    Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 2:00 P.M.  The Elizabeth Chellis Memorial Lecture: Angelika Kuettner, Colonial Williamsburg ceramics curator: “Wedgwood in Virginia: Above and Below Ground”; and Annual General Meeting; to be held via Zoom 

    Sunday, July 14, 2024.  Members & Guests Participation: “Annual Summer Social”; to be held in-person at a venue t/b/d 

  • Meeting 9/17/2023

    Annual Bits & Pieces

    The WSB will meet “in-person” for the opening of its 2023-24 season with the annual “Bits & Pieces” session, to be held on Sunday, September 17, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. EDT, at the Dedham Museum and Archives, Dedham, Massachusetts.

    For this popular show and tell format, attendees bring one or two of their favorite or recently acquired Wedgwood objects for presentation and discussion for the audience to enjoy and expand their knowledge. Please mark your calendars and join us in September! This event is open to the public.   

    If you are not a member, we invite you to become one and see what you’re missing. Go to the Become a Member page.

  • Meeting 7/16/2023

    2023 Annual Summer Social

    The closing event of the WSB 2022-2023 season is the first Annual Summer Social, to be held in York, Maine, on Sunday, July 16th. Registration forms were mailed to members with a reminder that spaces are limited. The full-day program includes visits to two private Wedgwood collections and a catered New England lobster clambake. For information, contact Adele at: wsbbarnett48@gmail.com.

    If you are not a member, we invite you to become one and see what you’re missing. Go to the Become a Member page.

  • NBB 05/25/2023 – Sad news

    The loss of a Wedgwood legend

    The Wedgwood Society of Boston is saddened to learn of the death of member Suzanne Borow Rubin on May 24, 2023. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her husband Ellis and family. We will miss her, dearly. You can read the full obituary here.

  • Meeting 5/21/2023

    The Eleanor Coade – Josiah Wedgwood Connection

    On Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. DST, the WSB will host via video-conferencing, “Who Was Eleanor Coade? Why Do We Care About Her?  And, What Is The Connection To Josiah Wedgwood?”, a lecture presented by Peggy Kerner, historian, collector, and WSB board director. Today, it is not unusual for young girls to grow up expecting to own their own business or head a corporation.  But, in the 18th century there were extremely few women in the business world, and even fewer owned their own businesses.  Learn what made Eleanor Coade an exception and how this ties in with Wedgwood.   

    Peggy, with a BS degree in chemistry and a MS in computer science, is a Wedgwood scholar, serves on several related boards, and has delivered numerous lectures to such organizations. She is also the WSB webmaster. 

    This session, representing the annual Elizabeth Chellis Memorial Lecture, will also include the Annual General Meeting.   

    If you are not a member and wish to enjoy this and future meetings and newsletters, we welcome you to join the WSB. Visit our website and the Become a Member page.

  • Highlights of Last Newsletter 3/2023

    March, 2023

    Dale Bowen Discussion Highlights, Part 1:

    A fascinating, interactive Zoom talk with a former Wedgwood master potter and artisan. Look for part II in the May Newsletter.   

    Auction Analyses and Announcements

    Coverage of results from the Nancy Ramage and Skinner sale and preview of the upcoming Skinner one.  

    Summer Social Preview

    The WSB will hold its very first Summer Social in July for members only. 

  • Publication – Wedgwood: Craft & Design

    Wedgwood: Craft & Design

    Looking back at key moments in Wedgwood’s design history, this book, written by Catrin Jones, curator of the V&A Wedgwood Collection, celebrates the manufacturer’s visual power and great design from its founding in 1759 to the present day. It highlights the internationally renowned V&A Wedgwood Collection containing around 80,000 objects. Published by Thames & Hudson, it will be available May 2023 via most book sources: $19.95

  • MC – Peggy Kerner 2/22/2023

    Submitted by Peggy Kerner

    I love this piece in my collection because it is so unusual. It is called a “Bouquetière” which is a fancy word from the French for flower pot. They are usually oval or round in shape, have a pierced lid to hold flower stems or branches, and were made in the late 18th to early 19th century. Mine is made of white terracotta biscuit covered with matte black slip and glazed inside to prevent staining. It is 8 1/2 inches high and 11 inches wide and dates to 1785. It was originally in the Oxborrow collection, and a similar example is in the Beeson Collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

  • MC -Ron Frazier – 2/22/2023

    Submitted by Ron Frazier

    Spotted by my son Forrest many years ago and knowing it was Wedgwood, he scooped the piece up. This Imari (Japanese) style 9” Vase is in a Pearl Ware body and has a production date-code of 1886. Imari style is based largely on two colors, a dark underglaze blue and a dark red, and is a crowded design. Along with other patterns of stylized floral shapes, the Imari range became popular in England during the early 19th Century and appears in various renditions (usually described as Japan Patterns) on Wedgwood’s Queen’s Ware, bone china, and whiteware, as well as pearlware. Japanese designs became popular after the international exhibitions in London in 1862 and Paris in 1889.