A superb arts & crafts tile from
the greatest art tile specialists of the late
19th and early 20th centuries. Entirely handmade
with plastic clay body and impasto barbotine
decoration, featuring a nature study design of
flowers and foliage painted in slips. Decorated
with warm earth tone colours and finished with a
most brilliant lemon glaze.
This is mid-1880s design and manufacture,
most later examples are not fully handmade being
slip painted over embossed patterns. This
difference most tile enthusiasts from collectors
to authors are oblivious to despite that those
that call themselves experts would have been
alerted to the difference merely by paying
attention to pattern numbers.
More arts & crafts than tiles by the arts
& crafts mass producers William de Morgan
& Co. and Morris & Co., closer to wares
by potters Martin Bros. and Burmantofts. Most of
William de Morgan's tiles were merely painted to
traced outlines, this was copied from the
pattern book by hand.
Verso clean but some smoke stain, Sherwin's
trade mark embossed, incised pattern number.
