Encaustic tile

“ One portion of the tiles appear designed to stand vertically, and probably formed a reredos or other wall ornament; they represent a series of niches flanked by panelled buttresses and crocketed pinnacles, surmounted by foliated canopies, in which the ogee arch occurs. The design of each niche occupies one tile in width and four in height; one is filled by an archbishop, another by a queen with a sceptre in her right, and a squirrel in her left hand, and the third by a king, having in his right hand an oak or olive branch, and a figure under his feet whom he seems to be crushing to the earth ”

“ Glazed or encaustic tiles were anciently much used for paving sacred edifices. English designs are generally heraldic in character. In Spanish architecture tiles were used for the decoration of walls instead of hangings; and richly decorated pavements are found in Asia Minor and the East Indies. (Consult Parker’s Glossary, J. G. Nichols, Examples of Tiles, &c.)
Tilt, O. E. The word is properly applied to the exercises in training for the joust, against the Quintain, the Pel, the ring, and other objects.
Timbre, Her. (1) Anciently, the crest; (2) Modern French, the helm, in a coat of arms. ”

“ The floor, for example, is rich in its varieties of tiles, there being some five or six of different designs and shades. It is true that the great central floors are made of tiles of uniform design and color, and that these—a deep brick red, with small green spots at the corners of each tile—are grave and good; but all around, where we pass through arch or door, there is a deep fringe of brilliant tiles, which are reflected into the glass cases nearest them, to the injury of the objects shown ”

“ Colored tiles are used in some cases with quaint effect; but I believe the dignity of the building is always greater when the roof is kept in an undisturbed mass, opposing itself to the variegation and richness of the walls. The Italian 346 round tile is itself decoration enough, a deep and rich fluting, which all artists delight in ”

“ In plainer dwellings they were covered with a mixture of fragments of stone and mortar, or with pavement of brick, stone, or common tiles. But in great mansions the floor was one of the special points for display. It was either formed of white, black, or colored marbles, arranged in a check pattern, or it was a specimen of elaborate inlaid work. The tesselated pavements, of which so many remains exist, display two varieties. The first, or plainer kind, is formed of tiles moulded into various forms of animals, flowers, or such devices, each tile being a perfect figure in itself. ”

“ The velvety quiet of these floors imparts a tranquillity to the kitchen, contagious to mistress and to maid.
It is needless to say much for the tile as you know its beauties. It may be cold to the feet, non-resistant and tiring to the back and slippery when wet, but this is overcome by mats of matting, cork or linoleum. Tile is made in every design and color to fit any desire or design. All corners and joints at the base of walls can be curved. It makes a unit of the whole room in design and intention as no other thing does. It can be cleaned out with a small hose. ”

“ Some beautiful heads of dogs, lions, and asses were marvellous examples of animal portraiture, and illustrated the capacity of tiling for the reception of that style of decoration. In them was seen the work of an artist who fully understood that, given the requisite mastery of color, a tile may be employed as a more lasting substitute for canvas. It is also worth noting that whenever tiles are used for covering a large surface, and each one is treated as a unit, the result is an artistic blunder. ”

“ These tiles are much larger than the Plain-Tiles, which are used in roofing dwellings, &c.; they are flat, as the name indicates, and are fixed to the laths of the roof by wooden pegs, two holes being left in the tile for that purpose. Foot and ten-inch tiles are thick square tiles of those dimensions, used for paving, hearths, &c., or for coping walls. All tiles are burnt in a kiln.
Bricks made in Great Britain are charged with a duty, and as it constitutes an important item in the revenue, the manufacture is laid under strict surveillance by the Excise. ”

“ During the 17th and 18tb centuries the old painted and decorated pavement tiles seemed to have been entirely replaced by the common buff or red terra-cotta "quarries" so largely used in farmhouse kitchens, dairies, &c, and it is to the painted tiles for walls and fireplaces that we have to look for the progress of the art.
The modern revival of tile-making in Europe dates from about 1830, when Samuel Wright, a potter of Shelton, near Stoke-upon-Trent, was granted a patent for the manufacture of tiles by mechanical means. ”

“ In medieval times lead or copper [7] in large sheets was used for the chief churches and palaces of Europe; but in more ordinary work clay tiles of very simple form were employed. One variety, still very common in Italy, is shown in C, fig. 3. In this form of so-called “pan-tile” each tile has a double curve, forming a legula and imbrex both in one. Stone tiles were also very common throughout the middle ages. Another kind of roofing tile, largely used in pre-Norman times, and for some centuries later for certain purposes, was made of thin pieces of split wood, generally oak ”

“ In the better class of tiled roof it is common to point off with white mortar the joints between the rows of tiles near the eaves, and also next the ridge; and oftentimes the entire roof is treated in this manner. In some photographs of Korean houses taken by Percival Lowell, Esq., the same method of closing the seams of the bordering rows of tiles with white plaster is shown.
Fig. 71.—Eaves of tiled roof. The older a tile is, the better it is considered for roofing purposes. ”

“ The latter have patterns in white, dark blue, and yellow, and in all cases they are remarkable for the beautiful inequality both of the colours and of the surface of the tiles. Both colour and material are in themselves better than the work of our tile-manufacturers at the present day, and illustrate very well the difference between hand-work and machine-work, which I have already noticed in comparing the old and new modes of dealing with plaster. The Moorish tiles are very commonly seen in Toledo, and were used both for flooring and inlaying walls, and in some cases for the covering of roofs. ”

“ At the present day, when slate is not used, tiles of burnt clay are the ordinary roofing material, and many complicated forms have been invented to exclude rain. Most of these are; however, costly and do not answer better than the rectangular tile about 9 by 6 in., fastened with two copper or even stout zinc nails, and well bedded on mortar mixed with hair. ”

“ The tiled ridges always terminate in a shouldered mass of tiles specially designed for the purpose. The smaller ribs of tiles that run down to the eaves, along the ridges in a hip-roof, or border the verge in a gable-roof, often terminate in some ornamental tile in high-relief. ”

“ Tiles and tile roofs have a curious way of tumbling to pieces in an irregular and eye-pleasing manner. The roof-tree bends, bows a little under the weight, curves in, and yet preserves a sharpness at each end. The Chinese exaggerate this curve of set purpose. Our English curve is softer, being the product of time, which always works in true taste. The mystery of tile-laying is not known to every one; for to all appearance tiles seem to be put on over a thin bed of hay or hay-like stuff. ”

“ Second-hand tiles therefore are always in greater demand. A new tile, being very porous and absorbent, is not considered so good as one in which time has allowed the dust and dirt to fill the minute interstices, thus rendering it a better material for shedding water.
Fig. 72.—Nagasaki tiled roof. A tiled roof cannot be very expensive, as one finds it very common in the cities and larger villages. ”

“ With coarse clay, a fine surface can be imparted with a flexible broad palette knife.
For raised outline tiles a frame 11⁄4” deep is required. This allows a plaster bat 5⁄8” thick to be placed at the bottom. The best way, perhaps, is to oil the frame and cast the bat in it, removing it when set and sandpapering the upper surface flat and true. The design for the tile drawn the exact size on paper is now traced on this surface. It is far better to sketch it directly onto the slab, but this demands some proficiency if the surface is to be preserved. ”

“ A building in Lower Thames Street had walls of red and yellow tiles in alternate layers. This fact I learn from a sketch by Fairholt at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and such use of bricks of two colours was a common practice. In 16Hodge’s sketches of the tile walls of a great building discovered at Leadenhall Market it is noted that some of the courses were red and buff. Price recorded of walls, 21⁄2 ft. thick, found in the Bucklersbury excavations, that “the tiles were the usual kind of red and yellow brick.” ”

“ This will result in a tile with the design in relief. Within these relief lines cement with color added to it may be placed and the tiles placed in a tray of water with the water coming half-way up the side of the tile. The tile will be hard enough to remove in five days.
SIMPLE ROUND PAPER WEIGHTS and tiles that are not square can be made by the same method. A little ingenuity in arranging the retaining cardboard strips around the plaster or wax model will solve the producing of irregular forms. ”

“ The roof and chimneys should be kept out of sight as much as possible; and therefore the one very flat, and the other very plain. We ought to revive the Greek custom of roofing with thin slabs of coarse marble, cut into the form of tiles. However, where the architect finds he has a very cool distance, and few trees about the building, and where it stands so high as to preclude the possibility of its being looked down upon, he will, if he be courageous, use a very flat roof of the dark Italian tile. The eaves, which are all that should be seen, will be peculiarly graceful ”

“ Caen stone or its clever representation in cement serves well for the more formal type of mantel and facing
Tile, the last of the four materials, gives more latitude in design than any of the others, sometimes too much latitude we feel. If understandingly used, nothing could be more appropriate and attractive, but tile has been used so carelessly that somehow we have a feeling that the tiled fireplace is for show rather than for use. In any case, there is no question whatever regarding the unfitness of the glazed tiles which have made horrors of thousands of pseudo fireplace openings. ”

“ Tiles may be made of various kinds and sizes, but in every case they show an inclination to buckle in drying and firing. The larger the tile the stronger is this tendency to warp. The clay must not be so rich as that which is used for throwing and should be tempered to counteract the tendency to curl. ”

“ The best covering for the joints of tiles which are laid without collars, is a scrap of tin, bent so as to fit their shape,—scraps of leather, or bits of strong wood shavings, answer a very good purpose, though both of these latter require to be held in place by putting a little earth over their ends as soon as laid on the tile. ”

“ The free space is an advantage in giving relief to the design and in furnishing an even surface for the teapot or bowl to rest upon. In the decoration of rectangular tile forms the general principles as to variety of measure or shape in space divisions hold true. Emphasis should be concentrated at the corners in order to strengthen the design.
Fireplace Tiles.—Some of the tiles illustrated in Plate XIV would be entirely appropriate for facing a border around the opening of a fireplace. ”

“ A tile such as this, eight inches square, is rather large for some purposes; it is, however, most effective as a decoration, and may do practical service in holding a flower-pot or vase of flowers—protecting a table or wooden mantel from moisture.
Fireplace tiles are, of course, considerably smaller, and those for use on a table are lighter as well. They are made by the same process, only using a smaller frame and rolling the clay thinner. ”

“ They are pieces of wood from half an inch to an inch in thickness, the size of ordinary tiles, carved in bold relief with free hand, coloured or not, and are very useful for house decoration, chimney-piece borders, cornices, and corners. The tile when employed with much repetition becomes the diaper ornament. ”

“ While the clay is moist, one side is chosen for the back, and this is hollowed out to prevent warping. The hollowing may take the form shown in the right-hand tile at the top of Plate XIV, or it may be in the shape of channels 3⁄4 of an inch or more in width, separated by ridges 1⁄2 of an inch wide running across the back of the tile. Whichever method is used, the depth should be about 3⁄16 of an inch and not over 1⁄4 of an inch. Even when the utmost precaution is taken, the tile is very liable to warp. ”

“ There are two kinds of it; one is whiter than the other, though the same materials are used: the mode of mixing alone makes the difference; the whiter, the clearer the tiles. It takes a certain number of tiles to form a picture: they are of different dimensions; the smallest are three inches nine lines, the largest seven inches nine lines. The price varies according to the size of the tile, the beauty of the varnish, and the variety of the drawings: the lowest price is eight pesos (25s.) ”