A 7.6m2 antique French ceramic in cool tones c.1910-1920

A fully restored French ceramic floor with its original border tiles reclaimed from the reception room of a house dated 1910-1920 in the north eastern suburb of Bondy, Paris.

Of a geometric theme, the principal 14.5cm square field tile, in a palette of dove grey, charcoal, off-white and mid-blue tessellates to form an alternating star linked design in one corner and an interlocking blue square in the other. The borders take from the same palette with the double-laid small border also using the same star theme. 

The floor has cleaned very well, as the high resolution photographs of a random section show; the ceramic is of excellent quality, colours are consistent and strong and aside the occasional edge nibbles and small chips on a small number of tiles expected of a floor over 80 years old it is in excellent condition. Being ceramic, the 15mm thick tiles can be laid with under-floor heating systems as they are superb retainers and distributors of heat and given that they are a highly fired tile they are impervious to high summer and sub-zero winter temperatures and can therefore be laid inside or outside of the home. The ceramic is fine and dense and the tiles do not need sealing once laid as a regular wash it all that is needed to retain their beauty.

The floor totals 7.6m2 / 81.8 sq ft.

Tiles quantities, give or take one or two:-

Field tiles - 270 -  5.7m2

Large border tiles - 42 plus 4 corner tiles - 1m2 or 6.7 linear metres / 21.9 linear feet

Small border tiles - 80 plus 8 corner tiles - 0.9m2 or 12.2 linear metres / 40 linear feet

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.