Small Plate with Egyptian Decoration before 1810

Curator: Let's look at this "Small Plate with Egyptian Decoration" by Josiah Wedgwood. Editor: I'm immediately struck by its muted earth tones and the contrasting dark, almost solemn imagery around the rim. Curator: Wedgwood, the famous English potter, was clearly playing into the "Egyptomania" that gripped Europe. This plate, around 6 inches in diameter, features stylized motifs – winged scarabs, hieroglyphs – very much in vogue at the time. Editor: The arrangement of symbols carries a potent sense of history. Each figure evokes something ancestral, a link to a civilization that held life and death in very close connection. Curator: It certainly speaks to the power of the museum and archeological finds to influence design, and demonstrates how historical imagery can be commercialized for domestic consumption. Editor: A humble plate becomes a symbol of cultural fascination and appropriation. Remarkable.