Plate (Child's or alphabet plate)

Description

From the early 1800s onward, advances in ceramic manufacturing and shipping made more wares available to larger audiences, including middling-income consumers in Britain and abroad. The Brownhills Pottery & Co. was one of several factories in Staffordshire that catered to such audiences, supplying relatively cheap wares, some of which were used for the education of children. Victorian audiences would have appreciated the Bible scenes like the type on the ceramic shown here. This press-molded white earthenware plate is transfer printed in dark brown with details picked out in hand-painted colors. The design features a background diaper pattern of tiny dots and stylized flowers against which are set the letters of the English alphabet in upper case. The primary ornament features a central scroll displaying the series name “BIBLE PICTURES,” below which is a landscape with grasses and other plants. A classically attired man sits near a creek as three birds fly above. The scene’s title “ELIJAH FED BY THE RAVENS” appears below the scene. The underside of the plate bears the transfer-printed pattern registry mark "R\d. N\o. 106738" (for 1888).