John Dwight

John Dwight (born c. 1637—died 1703, London) was the first of the distinguished English potters, known for his works in stoneware.

After taking the degree of bachelor of civil law at Christ Church, Oxford, Dwight was appointed registrar and scribe to the diocese of Chester. In 1665 he moved to Wigan and sometime between 1671 and 1674 moved to Fulham, London. In 1671 Dwight took out a patent for “transparent earthenware, commonly knowne by the names of porcelaine or china” and “stoneware, vulgarly called Cologne ware.” He did not actually make porcelain; the partly translucent quality of his stoneware apparently led him to mistake it for that material. Between 1693 and 1696 he was involved in lawsuits with 19 other potters over infringements of his stoneware patent.

The most important works from Dwight’s pottery are finely modeled stoneware busts and statues, including busts of Prince Rupert of the Rhine and Charles II, a recumbent half figure of his daughter, and various classical figures, all by an unknown modeler. Among the useful objects attributed to his pottery are various stoneware bottles and mugs.