Tile, 6 x 6 inches. Brown on buff. Raised maker's mark for Mintons China Works. This is one in a series of twelve fairy tale patterns designed by John Moyr Smith for Mintons China Works. The series dates to c. 1873-74. The fairy tale represented here is "The Beauty and the Beast," written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740. Her lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and published by French novelist Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1756 to produce the version most commonly retold. "Beauty and the Beast" is a story about a young prince that was cast under a spell. His spell could only be broken with true love. Through many ups and downs, he found love with Beauty, and she, in time, returned his love. They marry and the prince's spell is broken, and they live happily ever after.

This pattern features Beauty sitting down and cradling the beast in her lap as she holds a rose. The title appears at the top and the designer's initials, "JMR" appear beneath the beast.

Herbert Minton entered into partnership with Michael Hollins in 1845 and formed the tile-making firm of Minton Hollins & Co. They were the most famed and prolific manufacturers - for most of the Victorian era their tiles were used in The Palace of Westminster (The UK Houses of Parliament), U.S. Capitol, Victoria & Albert Museum, and many other prestigious buildings.