Tile

DesignerDesigned by J. Moyr Smith 1839 - 1912

Date1880-1900

MediumPressed buff-colored earthenware with white, black, blue, and tan underglaze enamels

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width x depth): 3/8 x 6 x 6in. (1 x 15.2 x 15.2cm)

ClassificationsCeramics

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Howard Bulkeley Haylett

DescriptionSquare tile of buff-colored earthenware with a transfer-printed underglaze design in black, blue (almost a grey blue) and tan over a white ground. The central circular design for the tile bears the title "WINTER'S TALE" and then "V III" at the top of the circle, printed in black on a tan background. Inside, the scene shows a bearded man in a toga on the left, looking at a woman in classical garb standing on a platform. There is a small, seven-stringed harp at her feet, and an urn with a plant inside on a ledge behind the woman. A third figure, only half in the scene, sits at the extreme left, also wearing classical clothing. It is possible that the initials "IMS" are printed in black on the lower right side of the scene. The circular scene is surrounded by a black and white geometric, circular border, then four roughly triangular panels at each of the corners. Each of the triangles is divided into nine sections by black lines that radiate from a shell-shaped motif. The scene and triangles are colored with tan and blue over the white ground of the tile. The white covers the sides, and has dripped onto portions of the back of the tile. Several long and short streaks of an unknown substance, perhaps glue or a cement, colored grey and tan, appear on the right side of the tile's decorative surface.

Object number1973.20.0

MarkingsRaised mark on the bottom of the tile states "MINTONS/ CHINA WORKS/ STOKE ON TRENT". This is followed by a second raised mark in the lower right corner of the tile with the words "STOKE upon TRENT" curved over a globe with the name "MINTON" in a panel superimposed on the globe. Beneath the globe are the curved words "WALBROOK LONDON".InscribedHand-written in pencil on the back of the tile at the top, what appears to be a capital "N" a superscript "o" and the number "1".NotesHistorical Note: Dr. Howard Bulkeley Haylett found this in a house on Morgan Street, Hartford, Connecticut, in the early 1900s. The house was about to be torn down.

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