When William De Morgan (1839–1917) began to decorate tiles in about 1870, the Victorian boom in tile-manufacturing was at its height. Tiles were to be seen in almost every type of building and a immense repertoire of patterns was available. However, most tiles were mass-produced by industrial processes, and inevitably their decoration lacked spontaneity. William De Morgan, like William Morris, whom he first met in 1863, rejected mass production in favour of traditional methods adapted to modern conditions.

During the 1870s and 1880s he devised methods for hand-making and decorating tiles, the latter known as the ‘Persian faïence’ technique. This involved coating the fired tile with white slip to which a traced and hand-painted transfer was applied face down before glazing. During firing the transfer burned away, leaving the design under the glaze. The traced transfer technique permitted several tiles to be made to the same design, without sacrificing the handcraft element in production.

De Morgan's strongly linear designs were ideal for the decoration of flat tiled surfaces and their bright colouring stood out well from a distance. The brilliant turquoise and cobalt blues, green and aubergine used for this panel were described by De Morgan as ‘Persian colours’ although they were influenced as much by Damascus and Isnik tiles as by Persian prototypes.