Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-1898) frequently used the theme of the Creation in his work. 'The Days of Creation' was originally produced in 1870 as a series of stained glass panel designs for Morris & Co. to execute for the All Saints church at Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire. Morris also used the design for the east window at St. Editha, Tamworth, Worcestershire, 1874. Burne-Jones later adapted the design for a six panelled gouache and watercolour, which was first exhibiting the completed work at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1877. This exhibition marked a return from a seven-year gap of his work being shown at exhibition, and was heralded a triumphant return by the critics, and established him as one of the masters of the Aesthetic Movement. The finished work is now in the collection of the Fogg Art Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Each of the six panels depicts an angel holding a globe symbolising each day of The Creation. In the first light and darkness are divided, in the second the waters separate from the land; this is followed by the appearance of plant life and subsequently, in the fourth, the emergence of the sun, moon and celestial bodies. The penultimate globe shows the appearance of animal life symbolised by a flock of birds, whose wings echo those of the attendant angels. Finally the sixth angel's globe contains man in the guise of Adam and Eve. Beneath sits a seventh angel who plays a winged instrument to represent the day of rest. As the narrative progresses from left to right the seraph from the preceding day joins the next so that in the sixth panel we see all seven. The Della Robbia Pottery had specialised in producing architectural bas-relief faience panels since 1893. Often seeking direct influence from the Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic movement artists of the late 19th century, some of their most elaborate panels were figural panels based on works by Ford Madox Brown, and the series based on Burne-Jones's 'Days of Creation'. The pottery produced several versions of this series, with a complete set surviving in situ in St Dyfig's Chaple at Llandaff Cathedral. Bonhams