WEDGWOOD BLACK BASALT OVAL PLAQUE OF BACCHANALIAN BOYS WITH A PANTHER AND A SMALLER BLACK BASALT OVAL MEDALLION

WEDGWOOD BLACK BASALT OVAL PLAQUE OF BACCHANALIAN BOYS WITH A PANTHER AND A SMALLER BLACK BASALT OVAL MEDALLION 19th Century, impressed uppercase mark, the first with a central relief of two Bacchanalian boys climbing on and feeding grapes to a panther, h: 7 1/2 x w:10 7/8 in., mounted on a green velvet and wood frame, h: 12 1/4 x w: 15 1/2 in.; the second depicting 'The Power of Love, 20th Century, unmarked, possibly by Gordon Elliott, molded with a processional of putti, the central figure riding a lion and carrying a thyrsus suspending a tambourine, the lead putto holding a shaft, while the third companion plays a horn, h: 3 1/2 x w: 4 1/2 in. (2)

Provenance: Byron A. Born Collection - the first
Wedgwood Society of New York, 1992 - the first
Jeffrey Milkins Collection, nos. 221 and 856.

Catalogue Note:
For a similar example, see Skinner, Boston, 16 July 2005, sale 2280, lot 26. For an example from the Lucie & Robert Reichner Collection, see Brian Gallagher, 'Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries', p. 165, no. 52. Here the subject is discussed and identified as 'Panther and Bacchanalian Boys' in the 1777 trade catalogue, however the example shown is incised 'Lioness + Cupids'.