Tile

Item number 3401/26 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Data
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Description

Square ceramic tile painted cream with black and grey designs overtop. Surface is glazed. Quarter circles in corners with floral motifs inside them. Grey band around edges, lined in black. Stylized triangles attached to grey bands, pointing towards centre of tile. Central design of a circular fan depicting a woman on a balcony, overlooking the ocean. The woman is waving a handkerchief at ships, wearing a long, draping robe. Her black hair is pinned up. In the background, behind the fan, are branches with cherry blossoms. Raised grid across entire back of tile.

Iconographic Meaning

The tile shows Japanese influence, incorporating Japanese iconography, a trend that was popular in Victorian tiles at the time. The background shows cherry blossoms, a Japanese national emblem.

Specific Techniques

Tile was manufactured by dust-pressing, a technique that uses clay milled to a fine powder with low moisture content, then pressed in a die at high pressure. The design was transfer-printed, a technique in which an image from an engraved plate is transferred to a tile, usually, requiring transfer paper to be run through a printing press with the engraved plate to pick up the ink, the design from the transfer paper could then be rubbed onto the tile.