A small copper plaque attributed to the Fivemiletown Class, circa 1895.

I believe this copper plaque is a great example of the early work of the Fivemiletown Class from County Tyrone in Ireland. The plaque has a slightly dished centre and a border with a repeating pattern of fish in repousse. The repeating fish pattern is very typical of the designs of John Williams who visited the class several times in the early 1890s, starting in 1893, where he both provided designs and tuition. John Williams also produced similar designs for the Newton School from Cambridgeshire and it is often difficult to attribute pieces correctly. It is made slightly easier in this instance as a near identical plaque appears in an article by the Queen newspaper in July of 1894. The article was a review of the Home Arts and Industries Association exhibition held at the Royal Albert Hall. This was only the second year that the Fivemiletown Class had been exhibiting hence I suspect the “Five Mile House School” is a mistake which was quite common at the time.