Six Designs for Decorated Plates

Art Historical Context

Step into the inventive world of Victorian design with *Six Designs for Decorated* (1845–55), a delicate sheet of pen-and-ink drawings enhanced with watercolor, created by Samuel Alcock Company in collaboration with illustrator Alfred Henry Forrester, better known by his pseudonym Alfred Crowquill. Measuring 16 3/4 x 11 7/16 inches, this work from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Elisha Whittelsey Collection captures the firm's vision for ornamental earthenware plates, blending artistry with emerging industrial production. Produced during Britain's pottery boom in Staffordshire, Alcock & Company specialized in affordable, decorative ceramics for middle-class homes. Forrester, a prolific caricaturist and book illustrator celebrated for his whimsical, intricate line work, infused these designs with playful motifs—likely floral, figural, or architectural elements suited for transfer printing or hand-painting on plates. This piece exemplifies the era's fusion of fine art and manufacturing, where drawings like these served as blueprints for mass-produced goods, democratizing ornamentation. The watercolor washes add vibrant depth to the precise ink lines, highlighting techniques that bridged handmade sketches and mechanized pottery. A charming glimpse into 19th-century design innovation, it reveals how everyday objects became canvases for creativity. (198 words)

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