A large run of Societe Amay border tiles - early 20th century

A large run of antique ceramic border tiles manufactured in the early 20th century by La Nouvelle Ceramique Societe Anonyme AMAY (Belgique).

There are 87 regular borders and 4 corner tiles in total, each 14cm / 5.5 inches sq. providing for a linear length of 12.7 linear metres / 41.8 linear feet. The 4 border corner tiles allow for a complete framing of the borders.

The tiles can be used practically to frame either an antique tile, modern ceramic or wood parquet and with the correct tile cements they can be fixed vertically to walls as splashbacks and various decorative features. Being both robust and resistant to high summer or sub zero winter temperatures they can also be laid externally on patios or garden paths.

The tiles have cleaned superbly, some display small chips and the occasional edge nibbles, all groutable.

NOTE
Antique tiles were most commonly made in single or two tile moulds. Before current computer automation methods their moulds were made by 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.