21 French Sand & Cie ceramic border tiles - early 20th century

A small run of 21 antique ceramic encaustic tiles dating from the early 20th century, the tiles were manufactured by Carrelages Mosaiques en Gres Cerame, Sand & Cie, Feignies pres Maubeuge, France. 15cm sq and 15mm thick they provide for a linear length lay of 320 cms / 126 inches.

Arriving ready to relay they can be used decoratively as a splashback in kitchen or bathroom, as a wall run in a shower or wet room and, being a highly fired tile, they can be used practically in chimney breasts, around cookers and woodburners.

The tiles are in good condition, a small number display small groutable chips and edge nibbles as well as some having the occasional surface capillary crack, formed when these handmade  tiles left the kiln after firing and were cooling.

NOTE
Antique tiles were most commonly made in single or two tile moulds. Before current computer automation methods their moulds were made my hand and the colour slips mixed by eye. Kiln temperatures could also be variable, as could the firing time. The result is that often tiles 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.