7.75m2 - Octagon & cabochons Maufroid Freres et Soeur ceramic floor pre-1912

A classically tessellating and beautifully detailed antique ceramic encaustic floor manufactured by Carrelages Céramiques de Chimay, Maufroid  Freres & Soeur, Rue Poncet, Bourlers, Henegouwen, Belgium, who later became S.A. :La Céramique de Bourlers. 

We show scans in the photo gallery of the floor as presented in the original Maufroid Freres et Soeur catalogue.

Maufroid Freres et Soeur traded as such between 1879 and 1912 and the tiles display on their reverse the Maufroid rings and centralised 'M'.

The total surface area is c.7.75m2 /83.4 sq ft with the floor comprising of three principal tiles;

Main field tile

This is an octagon, 16.3cm tall and wide, with 6cm sides and the tiles are c.15mm thick. A sky blue floral motif is anchored on a white fond with a linked edging.

Cabochons

The connecting square tile cabochons are 6cm sq and in the same sky blue.

Border tiles

These can be laid in duplicate, back to back, as shown in the gallery photographs or as a single tile lay and are again 16.3cm square and c.15mm thick. Introduced to the palette, in what again is a vegetal themed motif, are leaf green, light blue and apricot with charcoal piping. The border tiles are indulgent and both compliment and add impact in framing the more geometric tessellation of the field tile. 

There are two internal border corner tiles and two external border tiles reclaimed with the floor. The missing two of each border corners can simply be mitre cut from the regular border tiles.

The floor has cleaned very well of its old mortar and wax, revealing consistent colours on a good ceramic. Being a highly fired tile the floor can be laid inside or outside of the home and will work very efficiently with underfloor heating systems. 

A small number of tiles display edge nibbles or small chips, as can be seen in the photographs, all groutable and to be expected of an antique tile more than 120 years old, but the ceramic is superb and there is no wear in the surface of the tile slip.

Tile quantities by tile type:-

Octagon field tiles - 190 - 5m2 / 53.8 sq ft

Border tiles* -  99 (plus 4 corners) - 2.73m2 / 29.4 sq ft 

Cabochons - 130 tiles, with the surface area included in the above 

*Linear length of borders:-

Single lay is 16.8 linear metres / 55 linear ft

Back to Back lay is 8.4 linear metres / 27.5 linear ft.

plus free offcuts

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.