Tile (Fireplace or wall tile)

  • Title:

    "King Lear" Act V Scene III

  • Category:

    Ceramics

  • Creator (Role):

    Minton factory (Maker)

    John Moyr Smith (Designer)

  • Place of Origin:

    Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

  • Date:

    1873-1874

  • Materials:

    Earthenware

  • Techniques:

    Printed, Molded, Dust-pressed

  • Museum Object Number:

    2022.0018.001.003


  • Complete Details



Object Number

2022.0018.001.003

Object Name

Tile (Fireplace or wall tile)

Title

"King Lear" Act V Scene III

Category

Ceramics

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Sylvia Leistyna Lahvis, PhD

Creator (Role)

Minton factory (Maker)
1793

John Moyr Smith (Designer)
1839-1912

Place of Origin

Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Date

1873-1874

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; Central reserve border (top); "KInG LEAR V III"
2. Signature; Central reserve (low left); "MS"

Subjects

Theater; Shakespeare, William; Illustrious Moderns

Materials

Earthenware

Techniques

Printed, Molded, Dust-pressed

Dimensions (inches)

Dimensions (centimeters)

Object Description

Web - 06/23/2022

The body of this transfer-printed tile was created via a process known as dust-pressing, that was first patented by Richard Prosser in 1840 and was used by the Minton factory in Staffordshire. The tile's ornament reflects the then-popular fascination with William Shakespeare's plays and was created by the prominent designer John Moyr Smith. This example portrays a scene from "King Lear," Act V, Scene III.

The full Minton Shakespeare tile series includes twenty-four scenes, some from well-known plays, and variously are identified as "Anthony and Cleopatra," Hamlet," "King Lear," "Macbeth," "Merchant of Venice," "Midsummer Night's Dream," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Othello," "Romeo and Juliet," "Taming of the Shrew," "The Tempest," "Twelfth Night," and "Winterthur's Tale." Plays referenced on tiles but perhaps less often performed on modern stages include "Cymbeline," "Timon of Athens," and "Troilus and Cressida."

Although the central reserves in the series remain the same, such tiles were available 6" or 8" dimensions, in a range of colorways and with different border details. As well as being used in fireplace surrounds and on walls, these and other tiles formed decorative elements on furniture. Shakespeare series designs also were printed by Minton on tableware and vases.

(Winterthur is grateful to The Transferware Collectors Club for research support provided by the Paul and Gladys Richards Research Grant Program for Studies in British Transferware.)

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Electronic] Transferware Collectors Club. Transferware Collectors Club Database of Patterns & Sources. Transferware Collectors Club 03/13/2024 https://www.transferwarecollectorsclub.org/members/database
Same scene and border printed in black on cream-colored tile: pattern title listed as "King Lear" Act V Scene III (Alternate Names: Shakespeare; Pattern no. 1408), pattern no. 18239, maker's mark 77631. Maker Mintons (1873-1950). From a series of 24 Shakespeare tiles. "The scene...is near the end of the play as King Lear [holds] his daughter Cordelia who has been killed. The king is shaking his fist and crying at the Divine Injustice of her slaying."
[Book] Stapleton, Annamarie. 2020 John Moyr Smith 1839-1912: A Victorian Designer.
Book focused on John Moyr Smith designs
[Book] Stapleton, Annamarie. 2020 John Moyr Smith 1839-1912: A Victorian Designer.
Minton Shakespeare tiles series by John Moyr Smith: pp. 72-73, noting this is Moyr Smith's and Minton's largest tile series, featuring 24 central reserve designs on 6" and 8" tiles. c. 1874
[Electronic] van Lemmen, Hans. Minton's Prosser's Patent Tiles 1840-1854. Academia.edu (Journal of the Tiles & Architectural Ceramics Society) 06/23/2022 https://www.academia.edu/40425467/Mintons_Prossers_Patent_Tiles_1840_1854
Article on dust-pressed tile process at Minton