Wedgwood Black Basalt Medallion No.23 Elizabeth I c.1800 Kings of England

This finely modelled oval portrait medallion is an authentic example of Wedgwood's celebrated 'Kings of England' series, produced in the firm's distinctive black basalt body around 1800. The medallion is impressed with the maker's name WEDGWOOD to the reverse and bears the series number 23, identifying its place within the original sequence.

The 'Kings of England in high relief, including their present Majesties' was first advertised in Wedgwood's 1779 London showroom catalogue. Originally intended as a set of thirty-six medallions covering the English monarchs, the pieces could be purchased as a complete set or individually, and assembled groups are now considered highly collectable in their own right. The standard reference for the series is Robin Reilly's Wedgwood (1998), Vol. 1, p. 478, fig. 685.

The portrait depicts Elizabeth I (reigned 1558–1603). Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, presided over one of the most celebrated reigns in English history. The Elizabethan era saw the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, the flourishing of English literature under Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Spenser, the establishment of England as a major maritime power, and the Religious Settlement that defined the moderate Protestantism of the Church of England.

The medallion is sharply modelled in low relief on a smooth oval ground, retaining excellent definition to the features. Wedgwood's black basalt — a refined fine-grained stoneware introduced by Josiah Wedgwood in 1768 — provides a deeply rich and uniform surface, ideally suited to portrait work in the antique manner. Such pieces were prized in the late Georgian and Regency periods as small but serious works of art, designed to be displayed singly in cabinets, set into furniture, or grouped in framed arrangements.

Measuring approximately 4.5 x 4cm, the piece is in very good condition commensurate with its age, with no chips, cracks, or restoration. Light surface wear is consistent with two centuries of careful handling and display. The reverse displays the impressed series number and the single-word WEDGWOOD mark — without the addition of Bentley — confirming production after 1780, following the dissolution of the Wedgwood and Bentley partnership.

Provenance: from the estate of the late Geoffrey and Gina Oxborrow.

An attractive and historically significant piece for collectors of Wedgwood, English ceramics, royal commemorative material, or the late Georgian period. Will be carefully packed and dispatched fully tracked and insured.