Name/TitleCommemorative porcelain portrait medallion of Captain Cook
About this objectResponding to the eighteenth-century public fascination with, and adoration of, James Cook, which only increased with his tragic death, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons commissioned the leading English sculptor of the day, John Flaxman, to model several portraits in wax. From these Wedgwood produced three portrait medallions of Cook in their signature jasperware, in 1777, 1779 and this one in 1784. This fine bust profile portrait was adapted from the Royal Society’s memorial medallion, which had been executed by Lewis Pingo, and issued in 1779 to coincide with the publication of the narrative of the tragic third voyage. The portrait was reissued by Wedgwood in 1968 to mark the bicentenary of Cook’s first voyage, in an edition limited to two hundred.
Provenance: from the collection of Sir Maurice Holmes.
MakerJosiah Wedgwood
Maker RoleMaker
MakerJohn Flaxman
Maker RoleSculptor
MakerLewis Pingo
Maker RoleArtist
Date Madec1784
Period18th-century
Place MadeStoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
Medium and MaterialsPorcelain
Style and IconographyJasperware - Wedgwood
Inscription and MarksThe front is impressed with the title “Capt. Cook”, while impressed on back is the maker's mark in the form of “Wedgwood”.
Measurements 100mm x 125mm.
Object TypePortraits
Object numberSF000683
Copyright Licence
Attribution - Non-commercial - No Derivatives (cc)