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Item Name

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Material

Manufacturing Technique

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Place Made

Date Owned

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Condition

Accession Number

Iconographic Meaning

Likely depicting persimmon, borrowed from Chinese ceramics where it a common theme that symbolizes joy. Registration mark on the back indicates the design was copyrighted December 24th, 1879.

Cultural Context

Wall tile.

Description

Square ceramic tile with floral motif painted on front. Surface is glazed. Background painted cream. Front of tile entirely covered in white flowers, with pale yellow centres, on dark yellow branches. Branches have offshoots with dark yellow and dark green leaves. Seven horizontal ridges on back of tile. Inscriptions stamped in between the ridges. White sticker on back with manufacturer's name, Sherwin & Cotton.

Specific Techniques

Tile was manufactured by dust-pressing, a technique that uses clay milled to a fine powder with low moisture content, then pressed in a die at high pressure. The design was transfer printed, a technique in which an image from an engraved plate is transferred to a tile, usually, requiring transfer paper to be run through a printing press with the engraved plate to pick up the ink, the design from the transfer paper could then be rubbed onto the tile. Colours were filled in by hand.