Description:

An octagonal aesthetic movement earthenware plate printed in dark brown and painted underglaze in shades of fuchsia or red, golden yellow, green, and blue.  The pattern features an exotic geometric border with ferns, cherry blossoms, wild orchids and a butterfly surrounding two cartouches; one is of the Room in Which Shakespeare Was Born and the other Anne Hathaway's Cottage.

 Hathaway married Shakespeare in November of 1582 while pregnant with his child. Hathaway was 26 years old when she married, whereas Shakespeare was only 18. This age difference, and Hathaway's pregnancy, has been used by some historians as evidence that this was a "shotgun wedding" forced on a reluctant Shakespeare by Hathaway's family.