A small Maufroid Freres et Soeur ceramic - 7.5m2+ dated 1879-1912

A small antique Belgian ceramic with same size borders, the floor was reclaimed from a small entrance hall in a town house in Gembloux, Belgium. Owing to its lay with borders running vertically rather than framing the field tiles there are no border corner tiles available although these can be easily mitre cut by the tiler from regular borders to allow the framing of the floor, if that is desired.

16.5cm square tiles, 14mm thick, the floors surface totals c.7.45 m2 / 80 sq ft.

In a cool palette of grey, charcoal, white and a cornflower blue the floor comes with its original lozenge themed tiles.

Manufactured by Carrelages Céramiques de Chimay, Maufroid Freres & Soeur, Rue Poncet, Bourlers, Henegouwen, Belgique, who later became: S.A. La Céramique de Bourlers. Maufroid Freres et Soeur and traded as such between 1879 and 1912. The reverse of the tiles bears the Maufroid rings and centralised 'M'.

The tiles have cleaned superbly revealing a good ceramic. Years of old wax has been steamed off and old mortar removed, so the tiles arrive ready to relay.

The photographs are of a randomly selected c.1m2 section of the floor.

Tile quantities by tile type:-

FIELD tiles - 215 - 5.9m2  / 63 sq ft.

LARGE BORDER tiles - 57 - 1.55m2 / 16.7 sq ft. - 9.4 linear metres / 30.9 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.