Miltiades

Wedgwood

18th century

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Oval blue jasper cameo with white relief of two figures, set in steel as buckle
The egg cup has a waisted form that extends upward and flares out, in, and out again to form the lip of the cup. The cups are glazed and shift in color from a light brown to a dark brown. The egg cups are decorated with irregular lines (either dark or light brown) that extend horizontally around the form. The egg cups have a flat lip. The interiors of the cup are also glazed and feature similar horizontal lines that correspond in placement with the exterior. The bottom of the base is unglazed off-white stoneware.
Tall, delicate, oviform vase of solid light blue jasperware with applied white jasper relief resting on a square plinth decorated with a band of stylized anthemion motifs, the body of the vase rests on a round foot with a row of overlapping, stylized acanthus leaf motifs and slender stem from which emanate long, stylized acanthus leaves, the main body of the vase is decorated with two portrait medallions, on one side that of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), Lord Protector of England, after the portrait by Samuel Cooper (an identical unsigned wax portrait is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London) and on the other of William I, of Orange (1533-1584) wearing skull cap and ruff after the portrait by Michiel Mierevelt. Each of the portraits is framed above by rope festoons of leaves and berries that extend around the body of the vase and is supported by flowing ribbons and small escutcheons; the handles are in the form of two serpent heads that hold an egg in their mouths, below each handle is a mask of a winged Medusa against a scaly ground. The domed cover has a band of oak leaves and acorns intertwined with a ribbon around its lower edge, the finial is in the form of a seated, draped, sleeping cherub on a rocky ground with a quiver and two love birds.
Oval medallion with profile portrait of Jean-Francois Marmontel (1723-1799), French writer and dramatist, born in the Limousin region (noe Haute Vienne). Educated at the Jesuit college at Mauriac. Marmontel became a teacher of philosophy at the Bernardine seminary at Toulouse. He attracted the notice of Voltaire, who advised him to go to Paris where he arrived in 1745. A tragedy produced in 1747 at once gave him celebrity. An introduction to Madame de Pompadour brought him the place of secretary to her brother, the Marquis de Marigny. Marmontel frequented the salon of Madame Geoffrin, and after the death of his friend, Boissy, he was given the Mercure de France. After a great deal of opposition Marmontel was elected to the Academy in 1763, and in 1783 was appointed Secretary and historiographer of France. He retired to Normandy at the outbreak of the revolution, dying there in 1799. This model comes from an unsigned engraving dated 1765