Founded in 1768 by Josiah Wedgwood together with Thomas Bentley not far from the village of Burslem in Staffordshire, the Wedgwood manufactory was named “Etruria” which underlined the devotion of its founder to antique art and classical canon. In 1940, the enterprise was transferred and still exists in Barlaston, close to the town of Stoke-on-Trent.

The material that Wedgwood invented and called “jasper”, differs from the classical porcelain in the composition. In literature, the material is also defined as “stoneware” or “basaltware”. The pieces produced at the factory Burslem-Etruria are distinguished by a severe classic style. John Flaxman, a wonderful drawing artist and acknowledged creator and ideologist of the classicism style, was working for the manufactory for a long period of time. The reliefs and forms were made after his drawings. The collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums possesses two cameos of Wedgwood manufactory. Their design - white relief against a coloured background – became the visiting card of the enterprise. This style allowed the production of not only tableware, vases, and plastic art, but also insets for jewellery, furniture and other objects.

Apart from the works made of dense “stoneware”, the factory produced a high-quality faience and, though on a smaller scale, a soft-paste porcelain.