Rare Early Wedgwood Black Basalt Encaustic Bell Works Bowl c.1760

This unusually early Wedgwood black basalt bowl represents a rare survival from the experimental Bell Works period, dating to the first decade of the factory, circa 1759–1769. Formed in a straight-sided circular shape, the piece measures approximately 6 cm in height and 10 cm across the rim, giving it a compact, architectural profile typical of mid‑18th‑century utilitarian wares that were simultaneously used as small serving bowls, salts or desk pieces.

The body is of dense, fine black basalt stoneware, fired to a matte charcoal‑black tone with a smooth, almost metallic surface. Around the upper exterior runs a continuous encaustic‑style border, executed in a contrasting paler slip. The scrolling foliate motif, composed of stylised leaf‑lappets linked by sinuous tendrils, is characteristic of Wedgwood’s early Neoclassical vocabulary, anticipating the ornament seen slightly later on jasperware and basalt vases. On this example the decoration is applied as a linear overpainting which has then been fired into the surface, an important indication of Wedgwood’s exploration of encaustic techniques at this formative stage in the firm’s history.

The rim is simply tooled with a narrow raised lip and the lower body is left entirely undecorated, allowing the purity of the basalt body to dominate. Inside, the surface shows normal age‑related wear and a light patina from use, consistent with an 18th‑century date. The underside retains its original dry, unglazed finish and carries a clear impressed uppercase WEDGWOOD mark without accompanying letters or numerals. This early straight‑line mark, combined with the experimental encaustic decoration, supports an attribution to the Bell Works period, before the move to Etruria and before the standardisation of later factory marks.

Condition is very good for the age. There is no obvious structural damage or restoration visible in the images; the body rings clearly and retains its true cylindrical form without warping. Minor surface rubbing, small handling scuffs and traces of old soiling are present, particularly to the interior and base, but these are entirely commensurate with an 18th‑century basalt piece and help to authenticate its untouched state. The crispness of the foliate border indicates that the decoration has not been over‑cleaned, and the impressed factory mark remains legible despite natural wear.

Pieces from this experimental phase, in which Wedgwood refined the recipes for both black basalt and jasper bodies and investigated encaustic overpainting, are exceptionally scarce. Most surviving Bell Works wares are either plainer utilitarian shapes or later Neoclassical forms; a small bowl combining early basalt body, linear encaustic ornament and a first‑period mark is particularly desirable to advanced collectors and to museums building reference collections of early industrial ceramics. The compact scale also makes it a highly displayable object, whether in a dedicated Wedgwood cabinet, an academic study of 18th‑century British pottery technology, or a more general assemblage of Neoclassical decorative arts.

For collectors, this bowl offers an opportunity to acquire a tangible document of Josiah Wedgwood’s earliest technical innovations: the dense, finely milled basalt body, the disciplined Neoclassical ornament and the rare early mark together encapsulate the transition from experimental workshop to world‑renowned manufactory. Its understated elegance and historical importance ensure that it will remain a cornerstone piece within any serious Wedgwood or English ceramics collection.