Tile Item Number: 3401/41 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Square ceramic tile with floral motif painted on front. Surface is glazed. Background is cream. Central design of peonies, done in a mix of red tones. The petals are in the top left corner and the stem and leaves are in the bottom right. Dark red curvilinear motifs around the flower. Type of glaze makes design iridescent. Six horizontal ridges, with indents in between the ridges, on back of tile. Manufacturer’s mark, JC Edwards, stamped in between ridges. Three labels, with inscriptions in black ink, on back, along the sides.

Iconographic Meaning

Design is by Lewis F. Day, depicting peonies. Hand-crafted quality of the tile is distinctive of the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain which embraced craftmanship. The emergence of this style was in reaction to the degradation of quality and skill resulting from industrial manufacture.

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. It is hand painted in red lustreware which gives it the iridescent effect. This is created by application of metal oxides on top of an already fused glaze, and a second firing at low temperature.

Cultural Context

Wall tile.

Item History

What

Name
Tile
Identification Number
3401/41
Type of Item
tile
Material
clay, paint and glaze
Manufacturing Technique
dust-pressed and hand-painted
Overall
height 15.3 cm, width 15.3 cm, depth 1.2 cm

Who

Culture
Welsh
Creator
J.C. Edwards Ltd. (Manufacturer) and Lewis F. Day (Maker)
Previous Owner
Judith Stoffman
Received from
Judith Stoffman (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
United Kingdom and Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales

When

Creation Date
during 1905
Ownership Date
before October 30, 2019
Acquisition Date
on October 30, 2019

Other

Item Classes
ceramics
Condition
good
Accession Number
3401/0041