An 8.2m2 triple border Belgian period ceramic - early 20th century

An antique Belgian floor in a cool palette of greens, off-white, vieux rose and charcoal  manufactured in the early twentieth century by Societe Anonyme AMAY, Belgique, we include in the photo gallery some scans of the tile from their original catalogue.

This ceramic encaustic floor consists of a principal field tile, a same size border tile, for which all four border corner tiles are present, and a half sized border tile that is laid in duplicate, top and tailing the large border. Both the principal field and large borders are 14cm sq  and the half size border 14cm x 7cm. These quality ceramics are +/- 15mm thick.

The surface area of the floor is c.8.2m2+ / 88.3 sq. ft. 

The design and palette has art nouveau influences and the main field tile tessellates across four tiles to reveal a polka dot framed cross and floral motif and the borders take from the same palette and design. The half sized border is in the same palette but in a lattice theme.  

Being highly fired tiles the floor can be laid inside or outside of the home and will work very efficiently with underfloor heating systems.

Arriving ready to relay, these antique ceramics are in excellent condition as the high resolution photographs in the gallery of a randomly selected section of the total floor shows.

Reclaimed from the same house we have another Societe Amay floor of c.17m2 / 183 sq ft. in the same palette but with a subtly different field tile anchored by the same large border as this floor, presenting opportunities to use both of the floors in different areas. More details on the floor can be found if you click here.

Tile quantities by tile type:-

Field tiles -  325 - 6.4m2 /  68.5 sq. ft

Large borders - 46 plus 4 corners - 1m2 /  10.7 sq.ft or 7 linear metres or 23 linear ft

Half size borders - 94 plus 2 corners* - 1m2 / 10.7 sq ft or 13.3 linear metres or 43.6 linear ft

*The missing corners can be mitre cut from the regular borders

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.