14m2+ / 151 sq ft. antique French damier ceramic floor of three field tiles

Reclaimed from a school renovation in the cathedral city of Rheims, Champagne-Ardenne, France and totalling 14m2 / 150 sq ft. a classical antique French damier comprising of three individual field tiles; a grey motif on a white slip, a plain white tile and a plain mid-grey tile in the same grey as the motif tile. 13cm /0.5 inch square and 15mm / 0.55 inch thick, the tiles are reverse stamped Leon de Smet & Co, Canteleau, Lille*. 

Having cleaned superbly and now arriving ready to re-lay, they reveal a good quality, highly fired ceramic which can be laid inside or outside of the home; one that will also work superby with underfloor heating systems.

The high resolution photographs in the gallery display a randomly selected section of the floor, displaying an appealing antique patina with, on a few tiles, small groutable edge nibbles or small chips evident. Obviously the floor can be laid in several ways from a classical chessboard damier to using the motif tiles as both border and field tiles and there are examples in the photography taken to reflect this. We would be happy to assist, without obligation, to look at the best aesthetic of a lay for the tiles in your chosen area.

Tile quantities, give or take one or two:-

MOTIF tiles - 215 - 3.63m2 / 39 sq ft

WHITE tiles - 210 - 3.54m2 / 38 sq ft

GREY tiles - 400 - 6.8m2 / 73 sq ft

Plus a large number of free tile rejects for use as offcuts and halves.

*After the war of 1870-1871, France experienced a decade of considerable economic and industrial growth and a number of managers who had helped create the success of the internationally acclaimed ceramicists of Boch Freres departed to establish their own ceramic tile making companies. Amongst these were Paul Charnoz, who started tile production in Paray Le Monial, Burgundy. In addition to standard products they also carried out more prestigious commissions of great decorative finesse. Paul Simons, the first director of the Boch Freres factory in Louvroil, left in 1868 to set up his own factory in Cateau, northern France, trading under the name S.A Manufactures de Carrelages Ceramiques Simons and which soon became as important as the Boch factory. Similarly, the great ceramic house of Sand & Cie were established in 1872 and a little later in 1882, Manufacture de Carrelages ceramiques de Canteleu-Lille Leon de Smet were established.

NOTE Antique tiles were most commonly made in single or two tile moulds. Before current computer automation methods their moulds were made by hand and the colour slips mixed by eye. Kiln temperatures could also be variable, as could the firing time. The result is that often tiles display subtle size and thickness variations and there can be tonal variations in colours, owing to the slip mixing and/or firing time. All of this makes these handmade tiles unique and adds to their charm. Some floors display their subtle variations in size and tones, some not, but when photographing we always take a random section of the floor so that it is representative of the whole. A tiler should always dry lay a section of the tiles to familiarise himself with them before starting to fix lay.