Early 20th century Boch Freres antique ceramic c.3m2

A small impressive antique Boch Freres Maubeuge ceramic totalling c.3m2 or 32.3 sq ft, the floor has been reclaimed from the entrance hall of a house renovation in the Burgundy town of Talant, close to Dijon.

The main tiles are 17cm square, 17mm thick and weigh 1.2 kilos each.  

Handmade in small batches the main field tiles offer a classical geometric tessellation and are framed by a vine themed border tile and half sized border, laid in duplicate. We include in the photo gallery a presentation of the tiles from the original period Boch Freres catalogue in our possession.

Being a highly fired tile they can be laid inside or outside of the home and would be perfect for a small bathroom, entrance lobby, patio feature or centralised carpet style feature in a larger room surrounded by an antique parquet or complimentary modern ceramic.

This is a quality ceramic produced by an internationally respected manufacturer.

Tile quantities, give or take one or two:-

FIELD - 40 tiles - 1.15m2 / 12.4 sq ft

LARGE BORDER - 30 tiles - 0.9 m2 / 9.7 sq ft. - 6.9 linear metres / 22.6 linear feet.

SMALL BORDER - 60 tiles - 0.9m2 / 9.7 sq ft. - 13.8 linear metres / 45.2 linear feet.

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.