Burne-Jones's accounts for early 1862 list two designs for 'Theseus' tiles, of which this is the only one known, but may have been executed as early as 1861. It shows a four five-inch tile format for the narrative scene and a medievel-style interpretation of the subject matter, with Theseus dressed in a tunic of Late Gothic damask or brocade and the Minotaur peering, gargoyle-like, round the labyrinth wall. It derives not from ancient mythology, but from Chaucer's retelling of the Greek story in his 'Legend of Good Women', which explains its medieval character. Bequeathed by James Richardson Holliday, 1927.
This design for a painted tile is one of the very few examples of humour being allowed a place in Burne-Jones's 'serious' work.