Lidded dish, 11.25 x 6.25 x 4.25 inches. Brown transfer. Printed maker's mark for Thomas Furnival & Sons. This version of the "Chinese" pattern features a medley of Asian-inspired motifs and scenes. The lid has the most elaborate collection and features foliage similar to bamboo, prunus blossoms, and daisies. There are two sets of cartouche pairs. One is a hanging scroll (kakemono) depicting a geisha with a parasol and the other is a circle depicting a crane in flight against blossoms. The other pair features a fan decorated with flowers and a folded ribbon containing a bird in flight. The short sides of the dish feature small flower and foliage motifs. The long sides have more flowers and cartouches. One side depicts prunus blossoms on either end with a butterfly-decorated cartouche superimposed over the right. The other long side features bamboo on the left with two cartouches superimposed. The round cartouche is infilled with a geometric design and the rectangular cartouche depicts an unusual plant topped with bulbous seedpods or flower buds. The right contains a blossoming branch with another hanging scroll, this one featuring an image of a robe-clad boy with a Chinese queue hairstyle. The border consists of a line of repeated triangles filled with stylized flowers and scrolls and lined on the outside edge with a crown-like line.

Following involvement in previous partnerships, from 1851 Jacob and Thomas Furnival became partners at J & T Furnival. As well as earthenware manufacturers, they were in business as Grinders of Potters’ Materials at Etruria Vale, in the borough of Hanley. In 1859 Jacob Furnival, Thomas Furnival, and Francis Joseph Emery applied for a patent for “Improvements in apparatus for supporting articles of china and earthenware in kilns and ovens.” In May 1864 the partnership between Jacob and Thomas Furnival was dissolved and the business was continued by Thomas Furnival. Around 1871, Thomas Furnival the younger joined the business which became Thomas Furnival and Son. In 1876, another son, Samuel Bourne Furnival joined the business, which became Thomas Furnival and Sons. Around 1883 the company found itself in financial difficulty with liabilities of £60,000 (around £5 million in 2020 terms). In 1884 there was a notice of “Liquidation by Agreement” which allowed the company to trade out of its difficulties. Thomas Furnival
Sr. retired in 1890 and the business was continued by his sons Thomas, Samuel, and Arthur. The style of the business became Furnivals.