Small 6m2 triple border antique Belgian ceramic

A small and proud antique Belgian ceramic floor dating from the 1930's in a cool palette of blue, grey and charcoal on an off-white slip

The tiles are reverse stamped 'W' Made in Belgium', being the turn of the century Belgian tile manufacturer Welkenraedt, Chimay.

The total surface area is 6m2 / 65 sq ft

This is a triple border floor with a half size border top and tailing a full size border. The principal field tiles and large border are 14.5cm square

The design is stylized, floral but also strongly geometric with a single dominant repeating design instead of a four tile motif tessellation

The floor has cleaned well, its condition is excellent and the 15mm thick tiles are a good ceramic offering consistent colours

Tile quantities, give or take one or two:-

Field tiles - 200 - 4m2 / 44 sq. ft

Large Border tiles - 53 - 1.1m2 / 11.6 sq ft - 7.7 linear metres / 25.2 linear feet

Small Border tiles - 92 - 0.9m2 / 10.1 sq ft. - 13.3 linear metres / 43.7 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.