| Object Number: | C_WDM_2006_01 | |
| Date: | 1895 | |
| Category: | Ceramics Highlights | |
| Material: | Tin-glazed earthenware | |
| Dimensions: | Height 795mm, Width 1710mm, Depth 49mm | |
| Inscriptions: | Sands End Fulham Rose |
An important tile panel consisting of 40 x 6″ square tiles and representing a colourful and exotic scene of sailing ships, birds and sea creatures. De Morgan had a great fondness for the sea and is quoted by his sister-in-law in her 1922 biography William De Morgan and His Wife, as wistfully stating I should like to be buried at sea during a glorious sunrise off the islands of Majorca and Minorca. The tiles are marked on the reverse with an early Fulham Period impress stamp – dating the panel to between 1888 and 1897. The scale, subject and quality of this panel suggest that it may well have been designed as part of De Morgans commissions for P&O, which he undertook between 1882 and 1900. Letters written between De Morgan and his business partner Halsey Ricardo, further place the panel as part of their designs for the s.s.Malta in 1895.
Bought with the generous assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund