c.5.75m2 / 62 sq ft. French Douzies Maubeuge ceramic

c.5.75m2 / 62 sq ft of French ceramic tiles, manufactured in the early part of the twentieth century, offering a pleasing antique patina.

The tiles were produced by Manufacturers Ceramique Douzies Maubeuge, Maubeuge, France and bear the makers mark on the reverse.

15cm / 5.9 inches square and 15mm / 0.6 inches thick, the palette is cool in sky blues and sand, the vegetal motif linked by a centralised ring.

The floor has cleaned well, the slip is good, there are some tonal variations in colour owing to handmade small batch production. The photo gallery shows a randomly selected c.1.2m2 section of the whole floor.

Should a border be desired, we can propose options.

Highly fired they can be laid inside or outside the home. We feel both the design and palette lend themselves well to finding a new home in a coastal location, one offering good natural light on a patio, conservatory or summer house or inside in a well-lit room.

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.