Plate, 9.5 inches diameter. Impressed maker's mark for Thomas Furnival & Sons. There is also a painted pattern number of "89W2N." This amusing pattern is perhaps an interpretation of the old German tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Instead of attracting rats, however, here the piper in his pied clothing is attracting frogs. An assortment of villagers and animals dance around him, including a boy playing a fiddle and a goat standing on its hind legs. The border consists of a simple gilded 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.