A series of fifty Wedgwood 'First Day's Vases, were produced by the factory to commemorate the bicentenary of Josiah Wedgwood's birth. Another example of this edition of vases was presented to Queen Mary in 1930 and is in the Royal Collection (RCIN 58689). The present lot is no. 1 of the edition.

The original 'First Day's Vases' were produced to mark the opening of Wedgwood's new Etruria factory, celebrated on 13 June 1769, when Josiah Wedgwood threw six ‘First Day’s Vases’ with the help of his partner, Thomas Bentley, who turned the potters’ wheel. Shortly after, the six vases were delivered to Bentley’s decorating workshop in Chelsea. Fanning the flames of a growing obsession with the classical world, Wedgwood was quick to take advantage of the commercial possibilities of producing wares in the fashionable ‘Antique’ style. The shape of the 'First Day’s Vase' was copied directly from an ancient vase in the collection of Sir William Hamilton and the classical red-figure decoration was taken from a plate in the first Volume of Hamilton’s catalogue, depicting Hercules in the Garden of Hesperides.