Lord Pierce Anthony Weymouth Wedgwood, the head of the company of the same name, tells in an interview with SALON-interior magazine about traditions, family porcelain and Lewis Carroll

Passing the gallery

A photo: Dmitry Livshits, Peter Lebedev

Materials prepared: Dilara Muradova

Magazine: Decor N11 (89) 2004

Lewis Carroll, who invented the most famous English "tea party", at one time, as you know, made a trip to Russia. Either the road seemed too long for him, or the country was too exotic, but he never traveled from England. Therefore, when his compatriot Lord Pierce Anthony Weymouth Wedgwood (the head of the company of the same name and the descendant of the same Josaye Wedgwood who invented bone china) came to Russia, we decided not to miss our chance. And they asked him, just in case, about everything: about Lewis Carroll, about traditions and about family porcelain ...SALON: Can you trust what Lewis Carroll wrote about English tea drinking in Alice in Wonderland? - Why not? I think he had enough experience with tea ceremonies.S: But what about the famous English five-o'clock? In Alice, they drink tea at six. - In fact, we drink tea in the range from three to five. The best time is three to four hours, but if people come back from work later, they have no choice but to drink tea at five o'clock.S: Do you really go home until five? - Of course not. I work until late. So most often you have to drink tea at work: three or four o'clock in the afternoon - just the time of business meetings. But if a free minute is given, I try to sneak home to drink tea with my daughter. At this time, she returns from school. This year she will be 17. She has her own interests, and maybe she does not see me as often as the other children of her fathers. So this is a great opportunity to spend some time together. I want to keep this family custom ... S: Do you think tea is a current tradition? - Sure. And so necessary that the new generation will definitely save it. These young people are always in a hurry, working all the time, leaving very early, returning home, God knows how much. But tea is an opportunity to be with your family. In addition, our family has a lot of benefits from it. (Laughs)S: How much time do you spend on tea? - At work, usually half an hour. If I'm not in a hurry, then an hour and a half.S: Are there any restrictions on the number of people? - There are no formal restrictions. For example, when the queen in the summer holds receptions in the garden, she invites several hundred people to tea at once. But usually four or six.S: Does WEDGWOOD have a lot of tea sets? - Oh yeah. Creating a collection, we make a tea set for it with the same pattern. In addition, our designers invent tea sets separately. There are unique options, such as a set of frogs, which my great-great-great-grandfather made for Catherine the Great.S: Does your family have any special traditions in serving matters? - I always stand for setting the table. In the evening, candles are important. Candles and flowers. My wife and I seem to be a very romantic combination of the soft light of burning candles with white tulips ... As for serving, mix dishes from different collections ...S: Is it not against the traditions? - In general, against. But if you do something wrong, no one will ring the doorbell to inform you about it, and will not call the police.And then we asked Lord Pierce Anthony Weymouth Wedgwood to set the table ...The editors thank for the help in organizing the shooting of the boutique "Crispar" and the restaurant "Borgo"