Dutch Tin Glazed Tiles
The museum collections include many tin-glazed tiles made in Holland in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. The tin glaze made the tile's surface opaque white, very hard, shiny and waterproof. The process was first used on ceramics in the Middle East from around 1000 BC. Knowledge of it spread from North Africa and into Europe via Spain and reached Holland by the fifteenth century. #SUBHEADING#Decorating the Tile#SUBHEADINGEND# The decoration was painted into the powdery glaze on the tile surface before it was fired. This sank into the glaze in the kiln and so is termed 'in-glaze' decoration. Dutch tiles and other ceramics that were made in this way were often hand painted with blue designs and are often known as 'blue and white'. Blue and white ceramics were first made to imitate costly Chinese blue and white porcelain that were being shipped to Europe by the East India Company in the seventeenth century. It was most successfully imitated in the Dutch town of Delft and so it became known as 'Dutch Delft'. #SUBHEADING#Subjects#SUBHEADINGEND# Landscapes were a popular subject for tiles with the simple sketch scenes providing a glimpse of the rural landscape of Holland of the time. Many tiles have stylised corner patterns that are called 'ox-head' motifs. Boats or ships on water were also popular designs whilst others featured natural images such as flowers, animals and birds including some mythical creatures. Simple, sketchy motifs were often used but sometimes more complex images with more detail were produced. The workers who painted the tiles were not accomplished artists. They often copied or based their paintings on works that had been produced by well-known artists. They often used a method called 'pouncing' to make an outline of the design on the tile which could be used as a guide. This involved using a piece of paper that had the outline of the design pricked into it. This paper was laid on the tile and struck with a bag containing powdered charcoal, which transferred the outline to the tile. #SUBHEADING#Colours that were used#SUBHEADINGEND# Many tin-glazed tiles were painted with colours other than blue, tiles featuring multiple colours are usually referred to as 'polychrome' tiles. During the eighteenth century, some tiles were painted using a manganese oxide which produced a purple-coloured design. This tile depicts the Biblical scene of Christ being tempted by the Devil in the wilderness. Biblical scenes from both Old and New Testaments were popular subjects. #SUBHEADING#Tile Production #SUBHEADINGEND# Rotterdam was one of the main centres for tile production, making millions of tiles. Dutch tiles were imported in great numbers through English ports including Hull. As well as these imports, tiles influenced by the Dutch style were also produced in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, especially in Bristol, London, Liverpool and Glasgow often as result of Dutch potters moving to England. The tiles and other ceramics that were made are known as 'delftware', spelt with a lowercase letter 'd'.
Medieval Decorated Floor Tiles
Before the thirteenth century, most tiled floors were mosaics. As they were costly and complicated to lay, floor tiles started to be made that had decoration on them. They were hand-made and fired in kilns that were often nearby the building they were made for. They featured animals, plant patterns, coats of arms and some even copied the geometric mosaics that they replaced. Discover them for yourself...
