This sauce boat has a mainly decorative function and is unlikely to have been used for dining. It is in Minton's majolica ware which was one of the many historic styles and techniques that the firm revived. Minton's majolica loosely imitated Renaissance maiolica and was inspired by objects in the collection of the South Kensington Museum. Although the technique differs from Renaissance originals the vibrant colours and glossy finish evokes the earlier wares. Majolica employed a range of coloured glazes painted directly onto a buff body, although Minton did also produce wares using techniques closer to that of maoilica: a white opaque glaze laid onto an earthenware body and then painted freehand.. Majolica was developed by Minton in 1849 and reached the height of its poularity in the 1850s and 1860s.

The terms maoilica and majolica can be confusing and have been used interchangeably. The Victorians favoured the term majolica and today, broadly speaking, maoilica is used to suggest original Renaissance wares rather than the nineteenth-century versions.