The Pegasus Vase
- Audio guide stop: 471
- Gallery: Room 47
- Maker: John Flaxman
- Made in: British Museum; Etruria (historic - England)
- Date: 1786 (circa)
- Object type: vase
- Materials: stoneware
- Museum number: 1786,0527.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is "The Pegasus Vase," a striking work of stoneware designed in 1786. Created in the Wedgwood factory in Etruria, England, it features a pale blue background with intricate white reliefs.
This vase is rich with classical imagery. On the cover, a figure of Pegasus rests on a cloud, while one side shows the crowning of a poet, and the other depicts a temple scene with Athena and a palm tree. The handles are shaped like serpents arguing over an egg, and the vase rests on a square plinth.
Designed by John Flaxman and modelled in part by William Hackwood, this vase was a masterpiece in its time. Notably, Josiah Wedgwood was proud enough of it to mention it in a letter from 1786. It was even marked “WEDGWOOD” at the base—an early example of the iconic brand’s identity.
See it in person
The Pegasus Vase is on display in Room 47 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 471, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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