An enamel on porcelain plaque showing Corran, a favourite Skye terrier, seated on a red cushion in an attitude of begging. The terrier had been acquired by the Prince Consort at Corran Ferry, Scotland, and had been brought over to join the Royal Household in 1863. He belonged to Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (1844-1900) and died on 23 April 1877. Prince Alfred was clearly fond of Corran, including him in a series of self-portrait photographs taken in 1864 (see RCIN 2900989).

According to the Osborne catalogue of 1876, this porcelain plaque was produced by an artist working for the porcelain painting institute of Carl Schmidt in Bamberg and was copied from a coloured photograph. The composition may be based on RCIN 2900990, one of the photographs taken by Prince Alfred.

To produce an enamel on porcelain plaque, powdered glass, metal oxides and oil were first mixed to form a paint which was then applied, colour by colour, onto a prepared, porcelain support. After each application of colour, the plaque was fired in a kiln. The process was technically demanding. Each colour had to be fired at a different temperature and therefore had to be applied in the correct sequence, and the enamel had to be added in thin, even layers to prevent chipping once the plaque had cooled. Some plaques could require up to fifteen separate firings in order to fix all of the colours, while larger plaques were typically more valuable as they were more prone to cracking during the firing process.