This panel is one of three in the Gallery’s collection, and part of a more extensive series designed by William De Morgan for the P&O cruise liner SS Arabia. The stylised fruit trees are contained in a niche shape, reminiscent of Iranian and Iznik tiles that De Morgan studied and admired. The tiles are marked on the reverse with the firm’s logo, a Tudor rose with ‘Wm. De Morgan & Co. Sands End Pottery Fulham’. De Morgan was commissioned by the ship’s architect Thomas Calcutt, and the panels formed a decorative frieze around a public area, or companionway, of the liner. By the 1880’s, steamships had become a popular and luxurious way to travel, and P&O employed specialist architects and designers to create sumptuous interiors for their more prestigious ships. De Morgan designed for twelve P&O cruise ships between 1882-90.
