17m2 / 180 sq ft antique handmade Douvrin ceramic floor c.1905

A beautiful handmade French antique ceramic encaustic floor manufactured by Compagnie de Fours Ceramiques, Ceramiques de Douvrin, totalling 17m2 /180 sq ft. The two field tiles and border series can be seen in the Douvrin catalogue of 1905, a scan of which is below. Both the main field tiles and large border tiles are 14.2cm square.  

Reclaimed from the kitchen of a bourgeois house in Orleans, central France, it has been comprehensively cleaned of years of old lime based mortar and surface wax and arrives ready to relay. This is an excellent ceramic that displays its handmade heritage; the colours are crisp and the design detail lush. There is a charming variation to the colour tone, across the red tiles particularly, owing to the batch production method of manufacturing whereby tiles were made in pairs by individual workers on a long production line. There are small chips and nibbles apparent on some tiles, all grout-able, which as the high resolution photographs show add to the charm of its antique patina.

Framing the large border tiles is a plain double lay half size border in a complimentary palette.

This is a rare floor and an excellent ceramic from a heritage producer and despite being over 100 years old the colours are strong and crisp.

Principal tile 1 - The main fond of the tile is a warm cornflower blue on which there is wheat coloured motif with red circular linking.

Principal tile 2 – Again a wheat coloured floral theme motif is present but on a dark red domino framed fond. 

Borders – The floors is framed by an ornate lozenge same size border tile, again in a dark red and a double lay half size plain border tiles. There are no corner pieces for the large or small borders but given their symmetry these can be mitre cut. 

Being ceramic encaustic and highly fired the tiles can be laid inside or outside of the home, where high temperatures and sub zero winters will not affect the tiles. They can also be laid most effectively with under-floor heating systems.

Tile quantities, give or take one or two:-

Red and blue – 375 tiles of each

Large border tiles - 62 (8.8 linear metres / 28.8 linear ft)

Half size border tiles - 124 (17.4 linear metres / 57 linear ft)