A c.10m2 / 105 sq ft. antique Belgian Morialme ceramic

Now fully restored and arriving ready to relay, an antique Belgian ceramic floor dating from the 1920-1930's.

Produced by Produits Ceramiques Societe Morialme, the floor comprises of 14cm square* field tiles and their same size borders, which can be laid singularly or back to back as shown in the gallery. We include a photograph in the gallery of the Morialme factory they were orginally produced in.

*owing to the handmade production of the tiles there are subtle variations in the tile dimensions and in general also the border tiles at c.15mm thick are thicker than the field tiles at c.12mm thick.

The total surface area is c.10m2 / 105 sq ft.

The palette is warm and the design rich in a stylized vegetal theme.

The floor is in excellent condition, the ceramic is good quality and the slip deep. Owing to their handmade production in small batches and slip colours being mixed by hand, there are tonal variations in the colours of the field tiles, moving from a ginger to a caramel and we have shown this in the gallery by photographing two of the most obvious field tiles where this is evident (they are numbered photo 18 and photo 19, if you run your mouse over the photos). It is demonstable also in the border corner tiles, which were clearly made as a separate batch.

Some tiles display small groutable chips and some edge nibbles but the floor offers a pleasing patina as the high resolution photographs show.

A highly fired encaustic tile it can be laid inside or outside of the home as high summer or sub zero winter temperatures will not effect the tile. It will also work most efficiently with underfloor heating systems.

Tile quantities, give or take one or two:-

FIELD - 350 tiles - 7m2 / 75 sq ft.

LARGE BORDERS - 150 tiles plus 8 corners - 3.1m2 / 33.3 sq ft. - 22 linear metres / 72.5 linear ft*

* halve the linear lengths for a back to back lay as shown in the gallery.

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.