Very minor chipping/losses bottom edge near left
corner, no other damage, some fairly typical glaze
bubbles mostly in the red. • Style: Gothic A superb example of traditional majolica
tile, opaque glazes on a coloured clay body.
Eight colours on any kind of Victorian tile is
rare and these are clear and bright. Truly a
work of art requiring excellent painting
skills. To my mind the best of the genre from Minton,
the design bold, full and complex in the gothic
taste with fabulous colours including mauve,
red, black and purple. Few designs in this
technique are complete on a single tile most are
for borders, friezes, pilasters etc. or for
large areas the design flowing from one tile to
the next. Very durable tiles such that they were quite
frequently used in exterior walls, they are some
of the best quality tiles ever made and cost a
small fortune in their day. So familiar the
excellence being unforgettable yet according to
my records this the first I have bought for a
decade. This is almost certainly a design by A W
Pugin who was a close associate of Herbert
Minton as relayed by Barnard: Pugin (1812 - 1852), the pioneer of the
Gothic Revival, was an intimate friend of
Herbert Minton's. Writing in 1861, Benjamin
Ferrey says that, "among the various objects
occupying Pugin's attention, not one received a
greater share than the revival of encaustic
tiles." The preface to 1880s Mintons China Works tile
catalogue states: The process for the decoration of tiles
was favoured by the late Mr A Welby Pugin, "the
great restorer of Gothic Art," in the Houses of
Parliament and in many other places, and the
patterns in that style of ornament in this book
are all from his hand. The pattern number 154 would be from the
first few years of tile making by Herbert
Minton, possibly as early as 1835. Of course it
would then have been made as encaustic rather
than majolica and probably only in two or three
colours. It is taken that the 'M' suffix to the
pattern number refers to majolica. Verso very clean, embossed Minton & Co.,
Stoke on Trent.
• Condition: Fine
• Price: £180 (approx. $248)
• Stock number: 07298
• Technique: Enamelled majolica
• Maker: A. W. N. Pugin (designer)
• Maker: Minton & Co. (factory)
• Dimensions: 6" x 6"
• Date: 1865 (circa)
