A large run of French Maubeuge ceramic border tiles

A large run of antique French ceramic border tiles, dating from the early 20th century.

Manufactured by Compagnie Francaise Mosaique Ceramiques Maubeuge, Usine de Montplaisir and, for provenance, we include in the gallery scans from the pages of their period catalogue presenting the tiles.

14.5cm / 5.7 inches sq and 15mm / 0.59 inches thick, there are 125 tiles providing a total linear length of 18.1 metres or 59 feet.

Given their beautiful symmetry, the tiles can either be laid singularly or back-to-back and are ideal for framing an antique or contemporary ceramic, an antique parquet or stone. Being a highly fired tile, they can be laid inside or outside the home. Owing to their handmade production, there is tonal variation in the palette of the tiles, as evidenced in photograph 4 in the gallery.

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.