In the eighteenth century Josiah Wedgwood had made some of the most expensive stoneware ceramics – in jasper and basalt – in Bri
tain, but this tea set shows that by the 1840s, when Wedgwood produced it, the company was aiming at a much wider market. This is quite clearly mid-range pottery, simple earthenware of a sort that many quite modest British households were then able to afford. But the owners of this particular set must have had serious social aspirations, because all three pieces have been decorated with a drape of lacy hallmarked silver. Which descriptive details from the text best help the reader visualize the specific early Victorian tea set that is the central topic of the text? a. -some of the most expensive stoneware ceramics b. -aiming at a much wider market c. -quite clearly mid-range pottery d. -decorated with a drape of lacy hallmarked silver
Answer: The right answer is the D) decorated with a drape of lacy hallmarked silver.
Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that since they are asking for descriptive details that help visualize the specific early Victorian tea set, option A can be discarded, since that set was not representative of Wedgwood's most expensive ceramics. In addition, options B and C should also be discarded, since those are not particularly descriptive details and they do not specifically help visualize the piece. The detail that refers to the specific aspect of the piece—the presence of a drape of lacy hallmarked silver—is, therefore, the one that best helps visualize the artifact.
