When People Mention Wedgwood,

most people think of the blue and white Jasperware the company is famous for, 

all images courtesy of the V&A Wedgwood Collection, but this colour just did not happen, above Jasperware trials, mounted on a wooden tray, Wedgwood created around 5,000 trial pieces in the process of perfecting creamware, and nearly 3,000 individual trials were required to innovate jasperware. Numerous trays of the samples are preserved by the V&A,

 tray of clay and Jasper Trials, ceramic, Etruria (1773), “Each piece features a number that corresponds to an entry in an experiment book, housed in the V&A Wedgwood Collection archive,” the V&A says. “Josiah wrote his experiments in secret code because of the risk of industrial espionage.”

 tray of clay and Jasper Trials, ceramic, Etruria (1773), Many trial trays were found in Wedgwood’s Etruria factory and are now on display at the V&A as part of World of Wedgwood in Stoke-on-Trent, where Wedgwood brand pottery is still produced,

trial tray, underglaze blue and green enamels on ceramic, Etruria (1760-1765), Visitors can check out the creative studios, factory, a tea room, and shops, but if you can’t get there in person, you can always explore thousands of objects online,

tray of coloured glazes on coloured clay bodies trials, Etruria (1760-1765), also worthy of note is that the Victoria and Albert Museum, which stewards more than 175,000 works of art, ceramics, manuscripts, and photographs in the V&A Wedgwood Collection.