In 1876, an English designer bought a shipment of Japanese objects for Tiffany’s in New York City. That same year Japan’s showing at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition fostered a vogue for all things Japanese. Artists and designers were inspired by the simplicity of  their designs and adapted them to decorate every day objects.  A member of the Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework of Deerfield, Massachusetts, embroidered this piece. She placed the society’s symbol- a “D” within a wheel- in the center of the design.