s Pair of tiles, Spain, c.1501-1600 - Hull Museums Collections

Pair of tiles, Spain, c.1501-1600

The patterns on these tiles have raised outlines made using a method called ‘cuenca’. Cuenca was used in Spain, especially in Seville, in the 1500s.

Making tiles with raised outlines using the cuenca technique left spaces that could be filled with colour. ‘Cuenca’ means ‘hollows’ or ‘bowls’ in Spanish and refers to these spaces. The raised outlines on these tiles have stopped the different colours running into each other.

The cuenca technique involved making a mould with the outline for the tile pattern cut into it. When the soft clay tile was pressed against the mould, the clay squeezed into the cut lines. This made a raised outline on the tile that could be filled with colours after the tile was fired.

These two rectangular tiles form a repeating pattern. The design includes a long ‘four-lobed’ shape known as a quatrefoil. There are green scrolls in the corners of the tiles. These scrolls become stems with leaves for a blue flower motif when the tiles are joined up.