A cream-coloured earthenware oval tureen with a lid and a transfer-printed blue border. The moulded handle of the lid is decorated with painted blue lines. The tureen is printed on the base with a garter inscribed 'THE BLUE FUNNEL LINE' (Alfred Holt & Co. Ltd. Liverpool) enclosing the house flag of the company - blue with the monogram 'A H' on a white diamond in the centre. The mark of the retailer 'EILLS L'POOL' is also printed on the base. One of four identical examples, AAA5696-AAA5699. The Blue Funnel Line of Liverpool ran steam services to the Far East and Australia from 1866. Their passenger trade mostly operated during the interwar period with services to Australia starting in 1910 and to the Far East after the First World War.