8.2m2 beautiful antique Perrusson ceramic floor - early 20th century

Slowly reclaimed from the kitchen of a town house renovation in Laignes, Cote d'Or, Burgundy, France this antique ceramic floor was manufactured by Perrusson et Fils, Ecuisses in the early part of the 20th century. The design of the 14cm sq field tiles open up across a four tile tessellation; a repeating star and fern motif in either sky blue and beige or charcoal and burgundy. Framing the floor is a same size Perrusson border tile offering up the same palette of charcoal and burgundy with mustard piping. All four border corner tiles are present and correct.

The floor was filthy when recovered and the surface dulled by years of waxing, that had trapped dirt inside each layer, but it has cleaned very well of its old lime based mortar and dirt. The tiles were handmade in small batches and there are subtle tonal variations in colour owing to the batch making process. The 15mm thick ceramic is excellent and the floor displays a rich antique patina expected of its age, with some tiles bearing edge nibbles and small chips, all groutable. The high resolution photographs below are of a random 1.5m2+ section of the floor and representative of the whole.

The total surface area of the floor is c.8.2m2. There are more of the blue motif than the charcoal motif, see counts below.

As is evident on the photographs below of a random cleaned section of the floor there is surface crackling on some of the tiles, most notably the charcoal and burgundy coloured field tiles. Surface crackling was formed when the tile was fired and salt residues in the clay slip came to the surface during the tiles cooling causing small fisures. It does not effect the solidity of the tile and is not the result of ageing as it occurred during the tiles production. Being a highly fired tile they can be laid inside or outside of the home, for example as a garden path, patio, conservatory or in a summer house, as high summer and sub zero temperatures will not effect the tile. The Perrusson factory at Ecluses has long since closed but we have included a few old photographs of it along with a more recent one as its ruins can still be seen from the Canal de Bourgogne.

Tile quantities, give or take one or two:-

Blue field tiles - 188 - 3.7m2 or 47 full motifs (4 tiles to a motif)

Charcoal field tiles - 136 - 2.7m2 or 34 full motifs (4 tiles to a motif)

Large border tiles - 86 plus 4 corner tiles - 1.8m2 or 12.6 linear metres / 41 linear feet

Perrusson - a brief history...

Jean-Marie Perrusson was not only known for ceramic tile production but also for the production of bricks and roof tiles. Many of the lozenge themed terracotta mechanical tiles in Burgundy bear the Perrusson hallmark. He built his first brick making factory in 1860 and started mechanical tile production in 1863, to which he added a workshop for manufacturing ceramic tiles in 1875. Further expansion of the ceramic tile production in the Saône-et-Loire was initiated (in Saint-Julien-sur-Dheune in 1866, St. Pantaleon 1870), and even beyond the department (in Sancoins Cher in 1870 and Fontafié in Charente in 1878).

The company was renamed ‘Perrusson son and Desfontaines’ in 1890 and the factory also manufactured architectural ceramics and statues. In April 1960 the factory finally closed its doors. The vast majority of the original buildings constructed in 1890/1900 are destroyed with the offices, changing rooms of the factory, the concierge and the electrical workshop the only significant remnants of the site that can still be seen.

The Perrusson factory employed 40 workers in 1860, 80 by 1874, 130 in 1890, 300 at its peak in 1900, 280 in 1930 and 130 during 1945 to 1950.