Square ceramic tile with floral motif painted on front. Surface and sides are glazed. Background is off-white. Orange-brown border around edges with repeating pattern of diamonds with dots inside them. Squares in the border, at the four corners, with triangles and dots inside of them. Central design of two large light blue flowers with a light green leaf behind them. Small groupings of off-white and red-pink flowers surrounding the blue flowers. Six vertical ridges on back of tile. Inscription on back.

• Iconographic Meaning

  The blue flower depicted is Nymphaea caerulea also known as a blue lotus. This is a significant flower in ancient Egypt, symbolizing a divine source of life.

• Specific Techniques

  Tile was manufactured by dust-pressing, a technique that uses clay milled to a fine powder with low moisture content, which is then pressed in a die at high pressure. The design was transfer-printed, a technique in which an image from an engraved plate is transferred to a tile, usually, requiring transfer paper to be run through a printing press with the engraved plate to pick up the ink, the design from the transfer paper could then be rubbed onto the tile. The colour was painted in by hand.

• Cultural Context

  Wall tile.

---

• Type of Item tile
• Culture English
• Material clay, paint, glaze
• Manufacturing Technique dust-pressed, transfer-printed, hand-painted
• Measurements height 15.4 cm, width 15.4 cm, depth 1.2 cm (overall)

---

• Previous Owner Judith Stoffman
• Received from Judith Stoffman

---

• Made in United Kingdom, England

---

• Creation Date between 1860 and 1900
• Ownership Date before October 30, 2019
• Acquisition Date on October 30, 2019

---

• Item Classes ceramics
• Condition good
• Accession Number 3401/0007