Five Designs for Decorated Plates
![Five Designs for Decorated Plates by Samuel Alcock & Company|Alfred Henry Forrester [Alfred Crowquill]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.artheonmuseum.org%2Fmet%2Fdp%2Fthumb%2Ffive-designs-for-decorated-plates-394824.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Medium
Pen and ink, watercolor
Dimensions
sheet: 16 3/4 x 11 7/16 in. (42.5 x 29 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1956
Accession Number
56.527(24)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the mid-19th century, during the height of Britain's industrial pottery boom, Samuel Al & Company produced affordable, elegantly decorated earthenware for middle-class homes. This sheet of *Five Designs for Decorated Plates* (1845–55), in collaboration with illustrator Alfred Henry Forrester (known Alfred Crowquill), intricate patterns destined for dinnerware. Crowquill, celebrated for his whimsical pen-and-ink illustrations in periodicals like *Punch*, brought playful flair to functional objects, blending floral motifs, architectural elements, and ornate borders typical of Victorian orname...
About the Artist
Samuel Alcock & Company|Alfred Henry Forrester [Alfred Crowquill] (British|British) · 1828 |1804 –1859 |1872
British, active ca. 1828–59|British, London 1804–1872 London