nd his followers in this way is
exceedingly great, and is only to be equalled by the diversity of their
application, for the pieces made include plaques, vases, plates, dishes,
jardinieres, bulb-pots, teapots, cups and saucers, inkstands,
scent-bottles, buttons, buckles, and, in a word, every kind of thing
that could be made in clay. Many of the applied designs, whether of
figures or ornament, were very beautiful in a way, being copied or
adapted from Greek and Roman gems, vases, &c. At their best they are
marvellous for the precision and delicacy of their execution, and it is
impossible to imagine that anything better could have been done in this
style. So perfectly did they represent the taste of their period that
attempts were made at Sevres, Meissen, Berlin and Buen Retiro to produce
something of the same kind in porcelain; but none of these can be
compared with the works of Wedgwood, or his great contemporary Turner
(see Plate X.), in beauty of colour or perfection of workmanship.

It is obvious nowadays that much of this work was inspired by mistaken
motives; that it was founded on an imperfect view of ancient art; and
that it was marred by its mechanical ideals; but it must be remembered
that it was in perfect harmony with the spirit of the times, and that
while it emphasizes for us the pseudo-classic taste of the late 18th
century, it marks an advance in the technical skill of the potter, which
is simply astounding. The co-ordination of labour, which had gone
further with the Greek and the Italian potter than is generally
supposed, was now brought to a climax. Mechanical appliances were
introduced for the performance of many portions of the potter's work
that had hitherto been indifferently performed by rude and exhausting
manual toil; and while the application of mechanism was pushed too
far--so that in the first half of the 19th century we find the most
inartistic pottery the world has ever seen--we must regard this even
more as a cyclic movement of human feeling than as the work of any
individual, or group of men. The late 18th century marks the period when
pottery was no longer produced, as Italian majolica, the Henri-Deux
ware, the Palissy wares, the best faience of Nevers, Rouen, Moustiers,
Delft or Nuremberg had been, for the noble or the wealthy, but when it
was largely in demand by the poorer classes, anxious in their turn to
have a useful ware which should imitate the more costly porcelain used
by the