Stevenson's "Millenium" pattern immediately conveys its message of "Peace on Earth" with b...

Stevenson's "Millenium" pattern immediately conveys its message of "Peace on Earth" with both the banner over the center of this red transfer luncheon  plate and the familiar lion, lamb and child iconography. Closer examination reveals additional symbolic elements including the wheat and grapes of the border and the sacred eye of God at the top of the plate (overlooking Bible opened to Isaiah, Chapter Forty-Six). Immediately below a dove representing the Holy Spirit appears in silhouette. It descends with an olive branch into the "peaceable kingdom" scene. Finally, in the only open field in this complex pattern, a lone kneeling figure clasps his hands in prayer accompanied with the inscription "Give us this day our daily Bread."

The approaching "Millenium" seems to have been a topic of constant thought among the relig...

The approaching "Millenium" seems to have been a topic of constant thought among the religious in the nineteenth century, whether it represented a new day, peace, or more equitable social order. Witness utopian movements from New Harmony, Indiana to Brook Farm in New England. According to tradition, this particular pattern was aimed at the Quaker market.