4m2 / 43 sq ft. ornate mosaic themed ceramic c.1920-1930

A small antique ceramic encaustic floor, dating 1920-1930, reclaimed from its original home and now fully restored and arriving ready to relay. The floor comprises of a 14cm / 5.5 inches sq. field tile, tessellating across four tiles into an interlinking medallion and faux cabochons motif and its original half-sized borders. 

The tiles are designed in the faux-mosaique style, which creates the visual impression of a floor consisting of thousands of individual mosaic pieces when, in reality, the tiles are solid and square. The design was introduced in the late 19th century, gaining popularity into the 20th century before experiencing a renaissance again in the 1920's and 1930's. The tiles are designed in the faux-mosaique style, which created the visual impression of a floor consisting of thousands of individual mosaic pieces when, in reality, the tiles are solid and square. The floor has cleaned superbly, revealing consistent and crisp slip colours and the ceramic is excellent. A few tiles bear groutable edge nibbles or small chips, as a random section of the floor taken for photography shows. Being ceramic and highly fired, it can be laid inside or outside the home and, being an excellent distributor of heat, will work well with underfloor heating systems.
 
This is a unique and ornate floor and one that demands to be the heroine in any room. 
 
Total surface is c.4m2 / 43 sq ft
 

FIELD tiles - 185 tiles 3.6m2 / 38.75 sq ft.

HALF-SIZED BORDER tiles - 42 tiles - 0.4m2 / 4.3 sq. ft. or 5.9 linear metres / 19.4 linear ft.

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.