27 May 2025
Two hundred and fifty years ago, Josiah Wedgwood embarked on one of the most ambitious experiments in ceramic history. After more than 5,000 meticulously documented trials, he unveiled a material that would become both his legacy and the visual identity of the Wedgwood name: Jasperware.
First introduced in a dense white form, Jasper quickly evolved into a palette of serene tones with a signature matte biscuit finish. In a 1775 letter to his partner, Wedgwood wrote with quiet conviction: “The blue body I am likewise absolute in of almost any shade… and likewise a beautiful Sea Green and several other colours.”
Today, that spirit of invention lives on through two landmark launches: the Jasper Icons Prestige collection and Jasper 250, a generative AI tool inviting the world to co-create the future of the craft.
The Jasper Icons series reinterprets three historical Wedgwood forms as modern collectible art objects. The Panther Vase (RRP $12,899) is cast in commanding black Jasper, with feline-handled symmetry and engine-turned grooves. The Borghese Vase (RRP $56,949) arrives in a rare marsh green, its neoclassical friezes rendered in dramatic bas-relief. And the famed Portland Vase, first replicated by Josiah in 1789, is reborn in large Flaxen (RRP $28,479) and smaller combinations of Black/Cane, Pink/Saxon, Marsh Green/Canary, and Turquoise/Pink (each RRP $5,319). All are handcrafted in England, boxed in signature black, and accompanied by provenance certificates.
At the same time, the brand invites a new generation to engage with its most celebrated material through the Jasper 250 AI tool, developed by digital agency XXII Studio. Participants can create and submit their own Jasper-inspired designs at jasper250.wedgwood.com, where one winning entry will be 3D printed, added to the V&A Wedgwood Collection, and unveiled at the June anniversary exhibition Unpacking the V&A Wedgwood Collection: Jasper 250. The winner’s name will be honoured with a plaque, alongside a framed portrait of their design.
From Josiah’s relentless early experiments to today’s AI-powered reimaginings, Jasperware remains a canvas for creativity—timeless in form, and ever open to reinvention.
