The Decorative Art Tile Company - Circa 1887
"Arum Lilies"
-- Antique * Molded Majolica * Six Color Glaze -- Presenting a popular design of Arum Lilies, rendered in majolica and hand colored in six different brilliant glazes, by the Decorative Art Tile Company of England. This tile was manufactured in 1887, according to its registered design number, which is embossed upon its versa, RD NO 83666.
This tile presents a molded floral design of "Calla Lilies" with large detailed leaves, sculpted in relief and then made with white clay, individually hand pressed into metal mold, using a tile press.
The tile is extra-ordinary, because six colors of glaze were used, making this tile more costly, and risky, to make.
Condition: Excellent
The tile's floral design presents well and is without wear or surface damage. However, the upper two corners were reduced a bit, by the original installer, as this tile was once part of a back-splash on a piece of furniture, and is not a survivor of a fireplace surround. To fasten the tile to the furniture wood backing, a tile's corner may be reduced to allow for the passage of a small, brass, screw, and washer, used to secure the tile in place. Such reductions are not considered to be "damage."
Please examine the extreme edges of this tile to see some slight glaze wear in small spots.
The verso is free of mortar residue and of coal smoke stains, as the result of spending its long life as part of a piece of vanished furniture. (Wood decays, while tiles are basically "forever.") What discoloration the verso presents is probably the result of long contact with its wood backing and over a hundred years of being cleaned with white vinegar for over a century.
The grid grip pattern is typical of "The Decorative Art Tile Company" of this period.
Please examine our provided high-resolution scans of this tile to determine its exact state.
Size: 6" x 6" * Maker: Decorative Art Tile Company * Style: Victorian * Type: Majolica
Date: Circa 1887
06/1140/27/9/039