Small, 8m2 antique French carreaux de ciments floor

A small antique French carreaux de ciments floor of 20cm square tiles in a classical period French tessellation of 3D star and cross.

The tiles were produced by L. Vigier, Pont St Esprit, a tile producer founded in 1871 in Gard, France. We include in the photograph gallery a random section of the fully cleaned floor along with a scan of the original antique catalogue in our possession showing the tiles.

Having now been fully restored the tiles display a pleasing antique patina; close to 2kgs each in weight the colours are consistent and there are small chips and edge nibbles evident, all groutable.

Carreaux de ciments tiles are a cured rather than fired tile. This means once produced in two tile batches by hand they were simply left to harden over time, usually in a damp room to slow their drying and to ensure no small cracks would appear. They have a surface porosity similar to terracotta and for that reason they are only suitable for indoor use as sub zero freezing and thawing would damage the tiles. Once laid, the tiles should be sealed as this prevents staining and allows for low maintenance cleaning. Sealants are clear, painted on, do not change the aspect of the tile and are low cost. We can provide advice on laying and what sealants to purchase.

There are 175 main field tiles, totalling 7m2 / 75.3 sq.ft and 23 same size borders, totalling 1m2 or 4.6 linear metres / 15 ft, in length.