• Style/technique: Pictorial
handpainted
• Manufacturer: Minton & Co
• Dimensions: 7" x 7"
• Date: circa 1860
A nicely painted view of a river scene with
boats under sail and ashore being worked on and
a city in the distance. Painted in an economical
yet clear and detailed manner and with a good
range of colours. The painting is in the manner
of ornament for tableware and likely was painted
in the china department rather than the
tileworks the tile having never been installed
with adhesive made for furniture or pot stand to
compliment a dinner service.
At seven inches the size is rare too,
certainly Mintons China Works continued with
some seven inch tiles in to the 1890s but they
too are very rarely found. It is rather an odd
size too given the number of inches in a foot, I
have never seen an installation of them nor a
purpose designed fitting eg fireplace. One clue
perhaps may be in Prosser's Patent issued in
1840 which was for articles of surface area up
to fifty square inches, or a fraction over seven
inches square. Perhaps there was a technical
limitation preventing larger tiles and hence the
advent of this odd size. As this tile does not
bear the Prosser's mark it presumably was made
after the patent expired in 1855.
