Belgian Art Nouveau floor tiles - early 20th century
A beautiful and complete Belgian antique ceramic floor with original triple border tiles dated early 20th century removed from a period house in the suburbs of Liege, Belgium. The surface area of the floor totals more than 15.5m2 / 165 sq ft and the tiles bear the inscription ‘CNW’, an abbreviation for ‘Societe Anonyme Le Ceramique National, Welkenraedt’, a company established at Forges-lez-Chimay in 1892 which later opened a subsidiary in Walkenraedt in 1900. The Welkenraedt factory continued to trade until the mid 1920’s. The delicate white flower design, thought to be a Trillium, is present on both the principal field tiles and the large border tiles. The smaller half size border tile borrows from the same colour palette in delicate, fluid swirls typical of an early Art Nouveau period influenced by vegetal themes. The tiles are 14cm sq (5 ½ inches), with the exception of the half size border tiles which frame the larger border tiles. The floor is in very good condition – a very small number of tiles display occasional chips expected of a floor of this age, but the photographs are an accurate representation of the floor and more high resolution ones are available on request. The tiles have all been professionally cleaned of their old lime based mortar and have had old wax and dirt removed with a high pressure steam clean. They are therefore ready for re-laying. Being ceramic they are suitable for internal or external use and can be use with an under-floor heating system.
CE42