Art charity backs Wedgwood First Day Vase appeal with £90,000 grant

A campaign to keep one of the rarest pieces of Wedgwood pottery in Stoke-on-Trent has been given a major boost after receiving a £90,000 grant.
 
The money from Art Fund, the national charity for art, has aided the decision to extend the original March 14 deadline by which Stoke has to raise the £482,500 in order to keep the First Day’s Vase in the city, to July 14.
 
Master potter Josiah Wedgwood created the iconic vase on the opening day of his factory at Etruria in 1769. It had been on loan to the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery until it was withdrawn by its owner and sold at auction to an overseas buyer last year. The vase is one of only four made by Wedgwood that survives from the first day at Etruria.
 
Wedgwood, who was one of the pioneers of the industrial revolution, treasured the vases and said they should not be sold. Two of the other vases are owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum while the third remains in the Wedgwood family.
 
The Friends of the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery group is spearheading a public giving campaign to raise the £482,500 purchase price to keep the vase in Stoke-on-Trent, and put it back in the museum on permanent display. A temporary export ban was placed on it by the Government in December, and this has now been extended.
 
Ian Lawley, chairman of Friends of the Museum, said: “We are delighted that Art Fund is making such a generous contribution to our campaign.

“The Government’s decision to extend the export ban is another great boost. It is a vote of confidence in our ability to maintain the fundraising momentum and save the vase for the people of Stoke-on-Trent.”
 
So far, more than £83,000 has been raised during the campaign, including a £60,000 Arts Council England grant managed by the Victoria and Albert Museum, which will be made to the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery via the city council. The grant is in addition to the £90,000 that has now been promised by Art Fund, and which will take the fundraising appeal to over a third of its target.
 
Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund director, said: “Wedgwood is close to the Art Fund’s heart, following our successful public appeal in 2014 to save the collection for the nation. So, given this First Day’s Vase’s great cultural importance and central significance to Stoke-on-Trent, we knew we had to help.  
 
“We are so pleased to hear that the export ban deadline has been extended until July, and we urge everyone to support the museum’s Friends group in securing this quite exceptional work of art for future generations to enjoy at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.”
 
Cllr Terry Follows, the city council’s cabinet member for greener city, development and leisure, said: “This is absolutely fantastic news. Now that the export ban deadline has been extended, we have an even better chance of raising the total amount needed to keep this iconic vase in the city – where it belongs.
 
“If the vase can be put back on display at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, this important part of our city’s heritage will be freely accessible for all to see and admire.”
 

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