A 15.3m2 / 165 sq ft antique French Winckelmans floor

A large antique French ceramic floor dating from the 1920's / 1930's produced by Winckelmans and consisting of 15cm square field tile and a same size border tile. The principal field tile, strongly geometrical in design, borrows from English Victorian styling and is framed by a fluid same size border which can be laid either singularly or back to back, as we have shown in the photographs below. The palette is warm with grey, sky blue and mustard present on a burgundy slip. The main field tile can be laid in two different ways, which we have shown in photographs below. Equally, the border tile can be laid as a back to back double border or as a single border for the floor.

The floor totals 15.3 m2 / 164.6 sq ft in surface.

The floor has been fully restored, revealing a tile with some tonal variances attributable to the small batch handmade nature of production. Some bear small groutable edge nibbles or occasional chips but these are rare and the floor is in excellent condition. Being a highly fired ceramic tile the floor can be laid inside or outside of the home; for example on a garden path, patio, conservatory as high summer and sub zero winter temperatures will not effect the tile.

Winckelmans are rare in the sense that they are one of only a few of the many period French tile producers who are still trading now. Indeed, they remain a family owned and run business since their founding by Theophile Winckelmans in 1867.

Tile quantities, give or take one or two:-

Field tiles - 550 tiles - 12.4m2 /  133.5 sq ft

Border tiles - 120 tiles* plus 4 internal and 4 external corners -  2.9m2 / 9.5 sq ft or 19.2 linear metres / 63 linear feet*

** Halve the linear lengths for a back to back lay of the borders, as shown in the photographs