Wedgwood Collection still revealing new treasures a decade after it was saved for the nation

It is one of the most important industrial collections in the world, with more than 175,000 artworks, ceramics and photographs, spanning two centuries of history.

The Wedgwood Collection was acquired for the nation by the charity Art Fund and gifted to the Victoria and Albert Museum 10 years ago today, and researchers are still uncovering new treasures within it, from china with royal connections to family keepsakes. The fundraising drive to buy the archive is still the most successful ever held by Art Fund.

Josiah Wedgwood founded a ceramics company in 1759, which would become one of the largest and most famous manufacturers of Staffordshire pottery. Designs, objects and manuscripts collected by the Wedgwood family cover “history from the Industrial Revolution to today”, Catrin Jones, chief curator of the V&A Wedgwood Collection, said.

Recent discoveries in the collection include dinner plates salvaged from a ship that sank more than 100 years ago off the coast of Norway, Queen Mary’s dolls’ house tea set and a first edition Portland vase bequeathed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, the British composer who died in 1958.

Vaughan Williams was a member of the Wedgwood family, as was the naturalist Charles Darwin. Another treasure from the archive is an Egyptian-style canopic vase – like those found containing body parts in pharaohs’ tombs – which was made for Erasmus Darwin, Charles’s grandfather. An exhibition, Wedgwood and Darwin, celebrating the family’s connection, is planned for February 2025.

The Wedgwood Collection has also bought 60 contemporary Wedgwood pieces by modern-day artists for the V&A’s archive to mark the 10th anniversary. This includes the plate set, Harlem Toile de Jouy, by the designer Sheila Bridges which blends the traditional motif with the artist’s own experience as an African American from New York, and a ceramic badge that reimagines Wedgwood’s abolitionist anti-slavery medallion by the graphic designer Amy Sproston.

“I think it is particularly important because it’s very complete,” Jones said. “We have the ceramics, the designs, the archive all together – it also means a lot to people. A lot of people have a Wedgwood connection, whether it’s being interested in collecting or because their granny had a teapot. Everyone recognises the blue and white; it’s iconic.”

Wedgwood not only invented new ceramic materials such as jasperware and black basalt but was among the first makers to stamp his name on his product.

“He was the father of modern marketing. We talk about influencers all the time today, but he was a pioneer of that approach – he placed his objects with well known people, from the time of Queen Charlotte on.”

The archive is housed at Wedgwood’s site in Stoke, where its namesake started his work as a potter in 1759, alongside a working 1940s factory. The company still produces ceramics in the town, known as the world capital of pottery.

Jones said: “The Wedgwood name brings people to the city. I think there’s a narrative of industrial decline and it’s important to recognise the industry employs fewer people than it once did, but there are things to be optimistic about. We can talk about the history and the impact it had and how the individuals in this area shaped the company.”

In the archive are letters from female factory workers employed at Wedgwood during Josiah’s lifetime which describe visiting the Houses of Parliament to fight for abolition and the end of slavery.

“He was very well connected through friendships and business success but while he was engaged with building up wealthy clientele, he had radical ideas and his family were very involved with issues and campaigning. They were on the right side of history, if not on the popular side during their lifetime,” said Jones.

The curator said that one of the reasons Wedgwood has endured as a brand is its collaborations with artists and designers.

“They had a great ability to work with top artists and designers in each era. They recognised that good design was the foundation of a successful product. You see that in every period from their work with George Stubbs to Eduardo Paolozzi.

“One of my favourite pieces was bought from Karl Lagerfeld’s estate. It’s art deco, a very glamorous coffee set designed by French designer Paul Follot. It’s a perfect combination of modern design, monochrome and glitzy. It speaks to a collector – Lagerfeld – but also to Wedgwood’s amazing ability to produce quality ceramics.”

Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, said: “The strength of the Wedgwood Collection lies in its inspiration for today’s designers. Ten years ago, the V&A, Art Fund and others came together to save the archive for the artists and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. That’s why it’s so exciting now to be acquiring the work of upcoming ceramicists, holding new exhibitions in Stoke-on-Trent, and embarking upon a global tour of Wedgwood’s most iconic wares.”