This design of alternating swans and leaf scroll motif is attributed to William Morris c.1862. The tiles were decorated in Morris & Co.’s workshops on an imported Dutch tin-glaze tile. Morris later transferred production to the Netherlands, those tiles are slightly larger and decorated using the more durable ‘in-glaze’ technique (see C191), as opposed to the hand painted ‘on-glaze’ technique of this earlier smaller tile. This example was from ‘The Orchard’ in Claygate, nr. Esher, the Surrey home of the writer’s William and Mary Howitt.
