Tag Archives: People

Horse and Rider Wall Tile

Horse and Rider Wall PlaqueThis is a new acquisition and by far the favorite modern tile in my collection. It's a hand-made wall plaque depicting a green horse and a blue rider under a bright moon (or is it sun?). The expressive design is full of details and is hand-carved into the tile. The background brown glaze is very glossy and shiny but the green on the horse is vellum, and so are some of the blues. It's quite large and has a rim that gives it more depth. The back of the tile is glazed with the same brown glossy glaze.

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Filed under Contemporary Tiles, Foreign Tiles, Single Tiles, Unknown Maker

Mayan Fireplace Mantel by Muresque

Mayan Fireplace Mantel by MuresqueThis was another one of my "rescues." For the last few decades these beautiful tiles with Mayan and Aztec motives were stuck in someone's garage, covered in dirt and spiders. When I cleaned them and laid them all out, I realized that this was no less than a complete fireplace mantel by Muresque.

Muresque Tiles (1925 - 1935) was a tile company in Oakland, CA, owned by William Muir. The company produced hand-pressed deep-relief tiles, and a lot of the designs were reminiscent of those by Claycraft and Batchelder. Continue reading

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Filed under Muresque Tiles, Single Tiles

Flamenco Dancers Table by Taylor

Flamenco Dancers Table by TaylorTaylor Tilery (1930 - 1941, also known as Santa Monica Brick Company) produced at least a dozen designs depicting Spanish and Mexican dancers. Tile tables were hugely popular in early 1930s, and Taylor was working closely with a few furniture makers in Los Angeles area.

This table has a six-tile cuerda seca ("dry line") mural surrounded by green border tiles with contrasting black corners and set in a simple wooden frame. The tiles are fortunately in fantastic condition with what I think might be original terracotta grout.

This particular scene is somewhat more common with a different set of glazes. The background is usually yellow and the man's outfit is blue, as shown on page 152 of the California Tile, The Golden Era 1910-1940 (vol. 2). The design on my table has fewer glaze colors than the other version but is equally striking. Continue reading

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Filed under Taylor Tilery, Tile Tables

Carriage Wrought Iron Table by D. & M.

Horse Carriage Wrought Iron Table by D. & M.D. & M. Tile Company operated in Los Angeles from 1928 until 1939 and produced a number of designs that depicted horses - horse carriages, polo players, horse racers. This table shows a horse-drawn carriage made out of two tiles and set in a wrought iron frame. Continue reading

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Filed under D. & M. Tile Company, Tile Tables

Gypsy Dancers Wrought Iron Table

Gypsy Dancers Wrought Iron TableThe star of my collection and a complete mystery. The tiles on this table are hand-painted with multiple glazes and fired several times. There are no cuerda seca or cuenca lines separating the colors, which makes this design truly unique. You can even see brush strokes in some of the glazes that didn't melt completely! Continue reading

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Filed under American Encaustic Tiling Co, Gladding, McBean, Taylor Tilery, Tile Tables, Unknown Maker