Dish 1827 - 1843

This oval porcelain dish, created by William Adams & Sons between 1827 and 1843, depicts a scene of a ship sailing past a tropical island. The central scene is surrounded by a decorative border of floral and scroll motifs. This piece is a prime example of 19th-century English transferware, which used printed designs to decorate pottery. It's likely that this dish was part of a larger set of tableware, produced for the burgeoning middle class of the Victorian era. The romanticized scene of a faraway land speaks to the growing fascination with exotic locales during this period. The dish is currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.