10.75m2 exquisitely detailed Paray le Monial ceramic - 1903

One we were delighted to reclaim from the property development of a 19th century town house close to Roanne in central France, a stunning heritage - and now fully restored - antique ceramic complete with its original three tile series border. 
In a vegetal themed design, with two individual field tiles creating the flower head and the flower stalk, the tiles are reverse stamped identifying them as having been produced by Ceramiques de Paray le Monial. Indeed, the tiles were manufactured only an hour or so away in the eponymously named Burgundian town, famous for its tile production in the late 19th and early 20th century and its internationally known Basilica, completed in the 14th century. 
We have included scans from the period Paray le Monial catalogue of the floor, which dates its production as 1903. 

Despite being over 116 years old the tiles are of superb quality; the colours consistent, the slip is deep and the design detail speaks for itself. We feel, despite its art nouveau 1903 dating, that it has a strong art deco feel aesthetically and the triple borders make no attempt to compete with the principal area of the floor, instead simply providing a strongly geometric and complimentary framing.

The tiles are 14cm sq and 15mm thick.

Being highly fired they will work very effectively with underfloor heating systems and can be laid inside or outside of the home. The photographs in the gallery show a random section of the floor, which reveals a floor with a lovely patina where the occasional tiles bear a small groutable chip or some edge nibbles. A small number of tiles, particularly in the border series, display a capillary crack, formed when the tile left the kiln and was cooling. All groutable, part of the patina charm of the floor and does not effect the robustness of the tile.

Tile quantities (give or take one or two):-

Flower head field – 147 tiles – 2.9m2 / 31 sq ft
Flower bottom field – 152 tiles – 3m2 / 32.7 sq ft

Border tiles (running from exterior to interior in the photographs):-

Large border tiles A – 87 tiles plus 4 corners 1.8m2 / 19.8 sq ft or 12.7 linear metres 
Large border tiles B – 79 tiles plus 3 corners 1.63m2 / 17.5 sq ft or 11.5 linear metres
Large border tiles C – 70 tiles plus 3 corners 1.45m2 / 15.6 sq ft or 10.2 linear metres

We have recovered a second and equally impressive Paray le Monial floor from the same development and which has the same dating. It can be found here

Production of tiles at Paray le Monial has long since ceased but there is an impressive small  museum in the town of Paray le Monial, Burgundy which details the history of the company, celebrates the work of Paul Charnoz, its founder and creative light and has examples of the superb work produced by him and his team at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. A link for the website can be found here