A Victorian Copeland pottery soup plate, transfer printed in blue and white for the British Arctic Expedition in 1875.  To the centre of the dish is a circular cartouche with the wording 'ARCTIC EXPEDITION 1875' , inside that a Polar bear and encircling the dish is entwined rope. To the reverse are three anchors with the wording on them 'ARCTIC EXPEDITION 1875. W.T COPELAND & SONS' and  'ALERT' centralised. Other pottery marks embossed as shown in the images.
HMS Alert along with HMS Discovery was one of two naval vessels supplied by the Admiralty for the 1875 expedition led by Sir George Strong Nares. It was not successful in their attempt to reach the North Pole.
Measures 26cm diameter.