This inexpensive printed furnishing cotton is a rare surviving example of an export cotton produced in Lancashire in the mid-19th century. Although the so-called 'Portuguese prints' such as this were produced (between1840 and 1860) mainly for the Portuguese, Spanish and South American markets, enough examples have been found in the USA and Great Britain to suggest that they were also used elsewhere. The distinguishing characteristics of these mid-19th-century export cottons are fantastical flowers and animals, often incongruously combined with figures, printed in bright colours.

The Calico Printers Association Ltd, who donated this cotton to the Museum, was an amalgamation of 46 printing firms which formed 85 per cent of the British printing industry in November 1899, when it was established. Unfortunately it is not recorded which of the firms produced this example.