A framed frieze of six painted tiles decorated by W.B.Simpson & Sons Ltd, St. Martin’s Lane, London. Simpson’s were tile decorators only, usually working on blanks supplied by Minton’s or Maw’s. Occasionally, as is the case here, the blanks are produced with Simpson’s own trademark. W.B.Simpson were in fact house decorators who were amongst the first to recognise the potential of painting tile panels. From 1869 they began buying-in blanks, biscuit-fired, from Minton’s or Maws, and then painting them according to commissions, often using glazes produced by Wengers, the Staffordshire firm making glazes and sundries for potters around the world. The architect William Burges commissioned Simpsons to produce twelve tile panels for Cardiff Castle, owned by the Marquess of Bute, and in 1874 the firm decorated another set of murals from the Criterion Theatre, Piccadilly Circus. Item Code: 5791