Tile

Date1750-1770

MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft)

Dimensions5 1/8" square

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1989-188

DescriptionSquare tile with canted sides, Whitish tin glaze decorated in blue with a stylized vase of flowers on top of a shaped cartouche filled with a trellis diaper and flower-head design; at the corners, smaller cartouches with knobs and tendrils. On the back, the numeral I in black.
Label TextThe decoration on this tile may be a deteriorated version of another Liverpool tile with a more elaborate and sophisticated cartouche, a more skillfully drawn basket of flowers, and corner designs that form logical rosettes. The only thing missing from this tile that appears on the better produced one is a pair of birds perched on the corners of the cartouche. Slightly larger tiles with smoother backs made at a different factory, probably Bristol, are decorated with improved versions of this design (see CWF accession 1989-187) in a different glaze and shade of blue. Another Liverpool tile with the same pattern is painted in manganese. A number on the back seems to be characteristic of Liverpool tiles.
InscribedOn the back, the numeral I.
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceJonathan Horne (Antiques) Ltd., London