Tile (Fireplace or wall tile)

Description

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 the Medieval period and was created by the prominent designer John Moyr Smith. It is from his series of twelve tile designs featuring figures inspired by ornament on ceramics in London's South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum). Moyer Smith included these designs in his "Album of Decorative Figures," noting that the series is "illustrating fieldwork for the twelve months of the year." The full series of tiles portray these themes: Digging, Reaping, Mowing, Fruit Gathering, Woodcutting, Sowing, Pruning, Grape Picking, Grafting, Espalier, Threshing, and Ploughing. Although the central reserves in the series remain the same, such tiles were available in a range of colorways and with different border details. As well as being used in fireplace surrounds and walls, these and other tiles formed decorative elements on furniture. (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.)