Ornate Boch Freres French ceramics - dated 1881

Fully restored, now having been relieved of old mortar to the reverses and sides, and their faces cleaned of years of dirt and wax, these large 140 year old ornate ceramic encaustic tiles arrive ready to relay. We include in the photo gallery scans from the original Carrelages Ceramiques Boch Freres, Maubeuge, France catalogue, dated 1881, presenting the tiles. 

+/- 17.3cm / 6.9 inches sq and weighing c.1.4kgs / 3lbs each these are a quality, heavy, handmade ceramic with a good slip. 41 regular borders are available and there are 11 border corner tiles. 

We present options for their lay in the photo gallery from a single border run to a double back-to-back run. The presence of so many border corner tiles also allows for the creation of frames which can be used as decorative floor or wall features infilled with a plain modern ceramic in a complimentary colour. Again, options exist for using the tiles practically on walls in kitchen or bathroom and as a practical and beautiful decorative feature around heat generating areas like chimneys, cookers, woodburners, aga etc.

The photographs in the gallery are of a randomly selected number of tiles, some display small defaults or edge nibbles, all groutable and adding to the charm of their antique patina. On a small number of others there is the occasional surface level capillary crack, formed when the tile left the kiln and was absorbing humid air as it reduced heat from its 1,100F firing.

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.