Description:

An earthenware meat dish with spout printed in blue with the Buffalo and Ruins pattern.  This pattern was also made in brown or sepia.  It is a good example of what has come to be known as a Transitional Chinoiserie pattern in which designers combined elements of Chinese design with Continental buildings and other objects.   Large tropical trees dominate a scene in which one figure riding a buffalo gestures to another figure seated on the ground. In the background are Gothic ruins and, to the right, a figure carrying a parasol crosses a two-arched bridge over a river. The tropical trees are arranged in an attractive pattern in the border.   It has been said that Buffalo and Ruins was one of the most popular transfer printed patterns produced by the Castleford Pottery, however, examples seldom appear for sale today and, when available, they command high prices.