Description
Renaissance 8" Tile Hand Painted Morocco Vulcan Design Mintons China Works C1877
This is an exquisite and extremely rare hand-painted tile with a unique floral design with the profile of Vulcan inside a circle in the middle, made by Mintons China Works around 1877.
This tile's matt finish was produced by a method patented by Minton on March 31st 1877 under the name of "Morocco" finish, named after morocco leather.
The process involved mixing the surface enamels with oil and applying mixture with a roller to obtain a granular or matt effect similar to morocco leather. The finish was produced to reduce the glare of light from the surface of the tile.
Tiles with this finish are extremely rare, which perhaps indicates that relatively few were produced.
Tiles with this new surface were successfully exhibited at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878 and reviewed in 'The Society of Arts Artisan Report' which reads '. . . The series of enamelled tiles . . . contains several illustrations of a new process that has the appearance of morocco leather; it enables the design to be seen from any angle without the glistening brightness that is one drawback to the use of tiles for panels'. See 'The Society of Arts Artisan Report on the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878' (London, 1879).
A design in a different colourway appears as no. 1584 G, sheet 1 in a Minton catalogue of c 1885 (reprinted by Richard Dennis Publications, Shepton Beauchamp 1996) with two Vulcan tiles in the middle. The page is headed '"Morocco" and glazed tiles decorated with enamels' but only the tiles shown in the top half of the page had the 'Morocco' surface.
The tile is in very good condition for its age, with small chips around the edges and surface marks.
It measures 8" x 8" square.
The tile comes from the Roger Hensman Tile Collection, and has the number G.153. If you want to know more about this tile you can contact TACS (Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society), give them the reference number, and they can offer more information about it.
TACS
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