A 4.9m2 / 53 sq ft Boch Freres ceramic floor c.1881

For the purist, an excellent ceramic-encaustic tile, classical in its design and totalling in surface 4.9m2 / 53 sq ft. 

These 17cm / 6.7 inch sq,* tiles, manufactured by Carrelages Ceramiques Boch Freres, Maubeuge have a deep slip and are close to 2cm / 0.8 inches thick and weigh 1.3 kilos / 2.85 lbs each. For provenance, we include in the photo gallery some scans from the original Boch Freres catalogue of 1881 showing the presentation of the tiles.

*Owing to their handmade production there are subtle variations in the tile sizes between 17cm and 17.2cm.

The field tile is in cool tones of light and mid-grey on an off-white slip, with subtle burgundy piping around the principal snowflake motif. We can offer the original Boch Freres border options shown in the period Boch Freres catalogue; a Greek geometric-themed same sized border and a monotone half-sized band border. 

The floor did not travel far to its original home in Maubeuge, in the Nord department of France, Boch Freres had its factory there and, at its peak at the beginning of the 20th century, employed large numbers of the local population.

The tiles arrive ready to relay, having been restored to their original beauty one by one. Their reverses cleaned of their old chaux mortar, the sides of their old joints, and decades of old wax and dirt have been removed from their faces to reveal an excellent quality ceramic. Being an antique floor of over 140 years old, there are minor chips and occasional nibbles on some of the tiles, all groutable, and all adding to a charming antique patina.

A ceramic-encaustic fired to a temperature in excess of 1,100 degrees, the tiles are excellent conductors of heat and can be used with underfloor heating systems as well as being laid outside, where sub-zero temperatures will have no effect on the tile. They do not require sealing once laid and waxing is only by choice, should you prefer the tiles to have a satin or gloss sheen. The only maintenance required to retain their beauty is regular washing.

Tile Quantities

FIELD tiles - 27 of the 17cm sq tiles and 55 of the 17.2cm sq tiles.

LARGE BORDERS tiles - 40 plus 4 corners.

HALF-SIZED BORDER tiles - 80 of the half size borders.

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 tiles often 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.