A Rare Large Creamware Punch Pot and Cover, Wedgwood & Company, Circa 1800. ;The large, oversized pot is decorated with a beauifully designed print of Apollo, the god of the sun on one side with the signs of the zodiac as a border and Artemis, goddess of the moon on the reverse side. ;Apollo and Artemis are twins. Dimensions: Height: 10 inches; width: 12 inches Mark: Wedgwood & Co Godden in the Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks, page 662,#4104, writes, "Good quality creamwares of the 1790-1800 period occur with this impressed mark. ;These wares were probably made by Ralph Wedgwood & Co. at the Hill Works, Burslem, before 1796 or by Tomlinson, Foster, Wedgwood & Co. of the Ferrybridge Pottery, Yorkshire, after Ralph Wedgwood had joined this firm, having become bankrupt at Burslem. ;This Yorkshire partnership and their use of the WEDGWOOD & CO mark ceased about 1801." Reference: APOLLO, one of the most important and many-sided of the ancient Greek divinities. Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis [Diana]; he was born on Delos, where Leto had fled, persecuted by the jealousy of Hera... Apollo''s origins (perhaps Oriental) are quite uncertain; his name yields no convincing Greek etymology, although he became the most thoroughly Greek of all gods...A remarkable feature of his cult was his characteristic, though not only, way of giving oracles, especially at Delphi, to possess the priestess and speak through her mouth in a way reminiscent of Siberian shamanism. His oracles, especially the Delphic, were consulted on all manner of subjects, and good advice was often given, especially on such matters as colonization, by the obviously well-informed clergy, who "edited" the utterances of the priestess... Someone in the fifth century BC started a wholly ungrounded theory that Apollo was identical with the sun. This became popular in later times and lingers in poetical expressions such as "Phoebus ''gins arise," meaning that the sun rises; Phoebus ("bright, pure") is one of Apollo''s titles. It also led to his identification with real sun gods. There were numerous representations of the god in Greek art, from the archaic statues of the sixth century BC to those of the later period in which he appears as the ideal of youthful manliness and beauty. His worship was taken over by the Romans, who dedicated a temple to him in 430 BC and instituted gamees in his honour (the ludi Apollinares) in 212 BC. He became one of the chief Roman gods in the age of Augustus, who erected a temple to him on the Palatine... (Collier''s Encyclopedia) ____________________ APOLLO (Gr. Apollon), a Greek god, the son of Zeus, the father of the gods, and Leto, daughter of the Titan Coeus, and the twin brother of Artemis, goddess of the moon. The twins were born on the island of Delos, whither their mother had fled to escape the jealous anger of Zeus'' wife, Hera. Apollos is one of the most versatile of the Olympian gods. As the god of youth, manly beauty, music, and song, he represents the Greek mind at its best. He was the god of prophecy, with his oracle at Delphi, the protector of flocks and herds, the helper and averter of evil, and also the god of righteous punishment. To his oracles people turned in sickness, and he is represented as the father of Aesculapius, the god of healing. He delighted in the foundation of cities, and as the spiritual leader of colonists he was invoked as Delphinius; as Euryalus, he was god of the broad seas, and of the embarker and disembarker; as Agyleus he was god of the streets and roads; and as Phoebus he was god of the sun. Although the Greek poet Homer represents Apollo and Helios, the sun, as distinct divinities, Apollos'' identification as the sun-god is universal among later writers...The attributes of Apollo are the bow and quiver, the cithara and plectrum, the snake, raven, shepherd''s crook, tripod, and laurel. In art Apollo is represented more frequently than any other ancient deity... (Universal Standard Encyclopedia) (http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/coffeyartemis/artemis.html) THE BIRTH OF ARTEMIS ; ; ; ; ; ;Of all the major Olympian goddesses, Artemis is the only one who had a mother. Artemis is usually considered to be the daughter of Leto and Zeus. Hera, Zeus''s wife, was furious upon learning of her husband''s infidelity and forbade anyone to give refuge to Leto in order to give birth to her twins. Leto wandered around and finally settled to the island of Delos to deliver her children. Apollo became god of the sun and Artemis became goddess of the moon and of the hunt. ATTRIBUTES OF ARTEMIS ; ; ; ; ; ;Artemis can easily be identified wearing her short tunic with flat-heeled sandals with a bags of arrows on her back. She is associated with many of the animals of the wild including the bear, the boar, the stag, the goat and packs of dogs. She is the goddess of the hunt and is thus associated with death, bows and arrows and youth. Her arrows, often used in the hunt, serve several other purposes as well. Artemis is said to have the power to infect people with a plague with her arrows as well as use them to punish those who have wronged her. She is associated with childbirth and may use her arrows to relieve those in labor. Artemis is also associated with the crescent moon, which she sometimes wears upon her head. Artemis, like Athena, is a chaste goddess and her many followers take vows of chastity while under the service of Artemis.

Antique Porcelain & Pottery
Antique Teapots & Tea Sets