Chip top left corner and a few other very tiny
marks to the rim, surface is perfect and
brilliantly glazed. • Style:
Floral nature study A superb arts & crafts tile from the
greatest art tile specialists of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. Entirely hand-made
with plastic clay body and impasto barbotine
decoration, featuring a nature study design of
flowers and foliage. Decorated with warm earth
tone colours and finished with a most brilliant
glaze, displays really well and fresh especially
in natural light.. More arts & crafts than tiles by the arts
& crafts mass producers William de Morgan
& Co. and Morris & Co, closer to wares
by potters Martin Bros. and Burmantofts. Most of
William de Morgan's tiles were merely painted to
traced outlines ('painting by numbers'), this
was copied from the pattern book by hand. It should be noted that there are three types
of barbotine decorated tiles by Sherwin &
Cotton with mostly similar nature study floral
designs. Whilst not being mentioned in the
literature or indeed by anyone I have been in
contact with indeed no expert appears to have
even noted the difference despite the pattern
numbers giving a very strong clue by having
different prefixes. Later types of barbotine
tile were decorated in slips but upon embossed
clay the pattern and relief already determined
by the mould. There are few which are impasto -
freehand decorated on a flat surface the relief
built upon in slip the process requiring great
skill to produce the best effect. Verso quite clean, one nibbled edge,
Staffordshire knot in triangle badge, incised
pattern number.
• Condition: Very
good
• Price: £75 (approx. $101)
• Stock number: 03078B
• Technique: Impasto barbotine arts &
crafts
• Maker: William Henry Micklethwaite
(designer)
• Maker: Sherwin & Cotton
(factory)
• Dimensions: 6" x
6"
• Date: Design registered 1886
