WEDGWOOD BLACK BASALT OVAL PLAQUE OF VENUS AND CUPID

WEDGWOOD BLACK BASALT OVAL PLAQUE OF VENUS AND CUPID
circa 1770-1800, impressed uppercase mark and cypher, the center in relief with the goddess Venus tempting Cupid with a spray of pendant poppies, within an integral frame, h: 6 3/4 x w: 5 1/4 in.

Provenance: With J.S. Fine Art, 2016.
Jeffrey Milkins Collection, no. 842.

Catalogue Note:
The design for the present subject is based on an Antique carved carnelian gem, see the engraved study in Leonardo Agostini, 'Le gemme antiche figurate di Leonardo Agostini Senese, Rome, 1657, pl. 116. In 1770, Wedgwood also lists the subject as allegorical of â Nightâ alongside another of Day, modeled by John Bacon, nos. 79 and 80.