Worldwide Lecture Series: From Stoke-on-Trent to Tehran: Wedgwood gifts for the court in Iran

Thursday, 1PM EST

Title: From Stoke-on-Trent to Tehran: Wedgwood at the Court of Fath 'Ali Shah

Speaker: Fuchsia Hart

In 1810, the British East India Company (EIC) gave two large Wedgwood dining services to Fath ‘Ali Shah, then ruler of Iran. The services, one in the Japan pattern and the other in the Peony pattern, reportedly amounted to more than 600 pieces and cost the vast sum of £1300. These pieces, created through dialogue between the EIC envoy in Tehran and Fath ‘Ali Shah’s ambassador in London, were hybrid objects, melding British designs with ceramic forms more common in Iran. This talk will tell the story behind this lavish gift, exploring how the order was commissioned, drawing on documents still held in the Wedgwood archives.

Dr Fuchsia Hart has been the Sarikhani Curator for the Iranian Collections at the V&A since 2022. She holds a PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Oxford. Her thesis explored the shrine patronage of Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar (r.1797-1834) in Iran and Iraq. Currently, her other research and curatorial projects explore the wider courtly arts under Fath 'Ali Shah, embroidery traditions in Uzbekistan, and the collecting of lustre-glazed tiles from Iran in the UK.

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