The Wood family was an English family of
Staffordshire potters. Among its members were Ralph Wood I (1715–1772), the "miller of Burslem," his son Ralph Wood II (1748–1795), and his grandson Ralph Wood III (1774–1801). Ralph I was the brother of Aaron Wood, father of
Enoch Wood
Enoch Wood (1759–1840) was an English potter and businessman, from one of the major families in Staffordshire pottery. Starting as a modeller, he established a successful business in Burslem in the Staffordshire Potteries, from 1790-1818 trad ...
. Through his mother, Ralph Wood II was related to
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indus ...
.
The first two Ralphs were among the best modellers in
Staffordshire pottery
The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ce ...
of their day, both mainly noted for their
Staffordshire figure
Staffordshire figures are a type of popular pottery figurine made in England from the 18th century onward. Most Staffordshire figures made from 1740 to 1900 were produced by small potteries and makers' marks are generally absent. Most Victorian f ...
s, as well as running successful "potbank" businesses. Their most popular figures continued to be produced well after their deaths, and were often imitated and copied by others. Aaron Wood was also an important modeller, but more noted for "useful" tablewares.
Ralph Wood I
Ralph Wood I (1715–1772) was apprenticed to
John Astbury
John Astbury (1688–1743)"Astbury, John" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 649. was an English potter credited with innovations and improvements in earthenware associat ...
in 1730, then worked with
Thomas Whieldon
Thomas Whieldon (September 1719 in Penkhull, Stoke-on-Trent – March 1795) was a significant English potter who played a leading role in the development of Staffordshire pottery.
The attribution of actual pieces to his factory has long been ...
at Fenton Low where he learned to make coloured glazes. In 1754 he started making his own salt-glazed wares at
Burslem
Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent.
...
, and by about 1760 was creating ceramic figures of humans and animals, mostly famously stags. He is credited with introducing the
Toby jug, with his first being "Toby Philpot" circa 1762. He supplied Wedgwood with some models.
Experts have become more cautious in attributing individual pieces to his pottery, and many are now described by terms such "Whieldon-type".
File:Pair of water buffalos with boys MET ES2590.jpg, Water buffalo with boy, one of a pair, c. 1750, tortoiseshell ware
File:St. George and the Dragon, attributed to Ralph Wood, Burslem, Staffordshire, c. 1760-1770 - Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - DSC08814.JPG, St. George and the Dragon, attributed, 1760s
Ralph Wood II
Ralph Wood II (1748–1795) followed in his father's footsteps, manufacturing a variety of figures coloured with
overglaze
Overglaze decoration, overglaze enamelling or on-glaze decoration is a method of decorating pottery, most often porcelain, where the coloured decoration is applied on top of the already fired and glazed surface, and then fixed in a second firing ...
enamels; at least some were supplied to
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indus ...
in 1782 and 1783. The details of his career have been the subject of considerable controversy in recent decades. From 1773 to 1781 he ran a shop in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, whose assets were sold when he went bankrupt. His brother John worked with him, apparently running things in Burslem at least some of this time.
He also employed the mysterious figure of John Voyez, who Wedgwood had dismissed and then prosecuted either for theft of designs, or for being caught drawing the daughter of another employee in the nude (perhaps acceptable in France, but not in Staffordshire). In any case he received a prison sentence in
Stafford Goal in 1769. Voyez seems to have been French and trained in some form of sculpture, and probably modelled many of the figures. His work is associated with "thick-lidded eyes, somewhat flattened noses, and a general roundness of contour", and "somewhat pugnatious facial details on almost all his figures, even those representing women".
[Elliott, 7]
On 24 June 1774, he married Sophia Lambert and their son, Ralph Wood III, was baptized on 29 May 1774.
File:Sauceboat MET DP-1372-003 (cropped).jpg, Fox and goose sauceboat, 1770s
File:William III as a Roman emperor MET ES6077.jpg, William III as a Roman emperor, 1770s. Lead-glazed earthenware, 14 inches
File:Sportsman and sportswoman MET DP-1372-021 (cropped).jpg, Sportsman and sportswoman, 1780
File:Diana with hound MET DP-1372-014 (cropped).jpg, ''Diana with hound'', 1780s
File:Pearlware Toby jug VA C42-1955.jpg, Pearlware Toby jug, c. 1782–1795
Ralph Wood III
Ralph Wood III (1774–1801) continued the Hill Potworks until his early death in 1801, at which time production of Ralph Wood figures ceased. It is not clear if he modelled himself, or even introduced new figures.
Notes
References
* Avery, C. Louise, "The Tithe Pig", ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'', vol. 32, no. 5, 1937, pp. 127–129
JSTORFree PDF*Elliott, Gordon, ''Aspects of Ceramic History: A Series of Papers Focusing on the Ceramic Artifact As Evidence of Cultural and Technical Developments, Volume 1'', 2006, Gordon Elliott, {{ISBN, 0955769000, 9780955769009
onlineWood Family (Encyclopædia Britannica)
English potters
Staffordshire pottery