Tea at Trianon: 250 Years of Wedgwood

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, June 2, 2017

250 Years of Wedgwood

From Victoria:

The definition of tableware was ultimately re-created when Josiah Wedgwood had a vision of perfecting the customary creamware made by potters several years prior. His creation is known today as Wedgwood. The one-of-a-kind earthenware, veiled in a rich glaze, became a magnificent masterpiece. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the pottery grew to prominence at majestic events and was a central component of newfound customs, such as afternoon tea. The creamware’s stunning design, with its delicate edges that resemble linens and lace, attracted the attention of England’s Queen Charlotte, who paid Josiah the supreme compliment of allowing him to call his new pattern “Queen’s Ware” two years after its first production. From that point on, the Wedgwood name would forever be known. (Read more.)