The Gothic Revival Legacy
Of The 19th Century
And The Arts And Crafts Movement
The following pages contain photographs and descriptions of
Decorative Arts
designed in the
Gothic Revival Style
and the transitional
Arts and Crafts Movement from the Marc-James Collection,
now on permanent display in the Marc-James
Museum.
You may view these items by appointment at the Museum. None of these items are for
sale.
Floor and Wall Tiles
A fine example of A. W .N. Pugin's Graphic Art which served as the
basis for his wallpaper, fabric and tile art.
Group of ecclesiastical floor tiles, designed by A. W. N. Pugin in the Victoria and Albert Museum1845-1851, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin
V&A Museum no. C.1A-1978
Earthenware, (encaustic)
Minton & Co., Stoke-Upon-Trent, England
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812—1852) is arguably the greatest British architect,
designer and writer of the nineteenth century. Pugin was responsible for an enormous
quantity of buildings, and also for countless beautiful designs for tiles,
metalwork, furniture, wallpaper, stained glass and ceramics. Some of his best known work
includes the magnificent interiors of the Alton Towers*, Houses of Parliament,
the church of St Giles, Cheadle, in Staffordshire,
and his own house, The Grange, in Ramsgate, Kent, together with the nearby church
of St Augustine, which he built and paid for himself.
*The Ruins of Alton Towers Showing the Pugin Improvements of 1840-50
Two Minton Stoke-Upon-Trent encaustic tiles salvaged from the Governor's Mansion in Albany, New York.
These are fine examples of encaustic tiles produced in the 1840's and exported for commercial use in
the United States..
How Encaustic Tiles Were Made by Hand 'Tessellated tiling' is an oxymoron, but in nineteenth century use, the term means tiles of a high quality. Dry pressing was used to achieve such high quality, and to emulate the best medieval floor tiles.
These tiles came in a variety of shapes and colors, built up from complex patterns. The more elaborate of them were 'encaustic' or 'inlaid' tiles, bearing designs of contrasting color.
Samuel Wright took out a patent for their manufacture in 1830. In 1833, Wright's tiles were praised in Loudon's Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture. However they do not appear to have been a commercial success.
In about 1835, Wright sold his equipment and stock in hand to Herbert Minton, potter of Stoke-Upon-Trent, and negotiated royalty agreements, not only with Minton, but with another manufacturer, Walter Chamberlain. Chamberlain may have begun manufacture as early as 1836-7. Minton was more concerned to achieve perfect results, and was slower.
By 1841, Minton was able to undertake a major commission for the restoration of the pavement of Temple Church, London, using twenty-four patterns, based mainly upon examples in the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey.
Such tiles became commercially viable only in the early 1840's, after the Birmingham engineer Richard Prosser developed a system of pressing pulverized feldspar and clay between steel discs to reduce it to a quarter of its original volume. This produced a very hard and compact material, which was at first used in the manufacture of buttons.
In Wright's system, the body of the encaustic tile was made by pressing a thick clay in a mold. The mold created an indentation where the inlaid pattern was to be. A clay of a contrasting color and a softer consistency, more like honey, was poured into the indentation. The surface was scraped to leave a clean division between the two, and the tile was baked.
By 1844 Wright's patent was due to expire. He obtained an extension of seven years, which he then sold in equal shares to Herbert Minton and Fleming St John, of Chamberlain.
Maw & Co, dust-pressed encaustic tile, neo Gothic design of flower heads
within a quadrant, part of a 4 tile panel, Circa1875
Minton Encaustic Tile C.1860
Highly Glazed Tiles
Late Victorian Majolica Tiles produced by Minton Tile Works.
Based on A.W. N. Pugin designs.
