Object Type
This serving dish is decorated with images that are loosely influenced by asymmetrical Japanese designs. The dish was relatively cheaply produced, with inexpertly applied transfer-printing. It would have been intended to appeal to an aspirational customer with little money to spare.Tableware of this type was made by the many smaller British ceramics factories anxious to grasp a commercial opportunity.

Design & Designing
Although Japanese images were popular in the late 19th century, the genuine artefact or image was often misinterpreted or adapted at several removes from the original. The design of this transfer-printed pattern includes asymmetrically placed, unrelated views and a tree, in a style generally recognised as Japanese. The apple tree is set in a marshy landscape; tucked into its branches are three views within rectangles and a hexagonal. Two of these views appear to be of the British countryside, while the third is of a pelican. The pattern is named 'Pomona' after the goddess of fruit, especially apple, trees.

People
The maker of this dish was possibly Worthington & Harrop of the Dresden Works, Hanley, Staffordshire, known to have been in operation from 1856 to 1873. However, it might also have been made by Wood & Hulme (Henry Hulme) of Garfield Pottery, Burslem, Staffordshire, operating from about 1882 to 1932. Both of these potteries used 'W&H' as their mark.