Fabulous original majolica tile, opaque but
very shiny glazes on strong buff clay body, a
full gothic design likely by Pugin. Noted in the
literature and a classic of the genre,
incredibly complex and expensive to manufcture
with eight superb colours including burgundy,
purple, mauve and black.
A tile that is difficult to date with
certainty closer than a few decades although
most that come to market are described as 1840s
or 1850s but the date range is surely wider.
They were first introduced around 1850 but the
effect of the technique was not surpassed until
the early 20thC and although very expensive (not
as Wm de Morgan & Co tiles though!) their
later market would have been very limited but
nevertheless it would have existed. The Minton
& Co name was used on tiles from 1830s
onwards and when Minton Hollins was established
as a specialist tile maker it seems they
continued to use existing dies until they wore
out whilst new dies bear the naming Minton
Hollins & Co (earlier with a comma after
Minton). These are most likely quite early,
around 1860, as the crispness of the dies and in
particular the letter punches on most is very
good and sharp.
Versos perfectly clean, embossed Minton &
Co, Stoke on Trent.
