Tray, 9 x 6 inches. Blue transfer with gilded accents on molded handles. Printed maker's mark for Bates, Walker & Co. This simple pattern features a large spray of wheat and cornflowers along the bottom edge of the tray and a smaller spray of wildflowers along the top edge. A butterfly hovers between the two floral sprays to the right. The molded handles shaped into leaves are decorated with gilding.

Bates, Walker & Co. (1875-1878) was an earthenware and porcelain manufacturer at the Dale Hall Works in Longport and Burslem, Staffordshire. The Dale Hall works was originally founded in 1790. One of the more successful occupiers of the Dale Hall Works was Mayer Bros. (c.1843-55) and subsequent owners used "LATE MAYERS" in their marks. The firm previous to Bates, Walker & Co., Bates, Elliot & Co. (1870-75) introduced a kneeling, nude potter with the date 1790 as a mark, and subsequent owners used the same mark. The partners in Bates, Walker & Co. were William Bates and John Walker. The partnership was dissolved on 12 August 1878.