Ceramic Tiles History
Ceramic tiles are one of the oldest forms of decorative art. Together with architecture, they
have been widely used due to its durability, technical properties and visual richness. The word
“tile” comes from the French word “tuile”, which is derived fromthe latin word “tegula”,
meaning a roof tile of baked clay. As for the word “ceramic”, it comes from the greek word
“keramikos”, which meant “of pottery” or “for pottery”, and it is related to the Indo-European
word “cheros”, which meant “heat”.
The history of ceramic tiles begins with the oldest civilizations. It is known that Egyptians on the
4th millennium b.c. already used to decorate their houses with blue tile bricks (image 1). The
glazed bricks were also very common in Mesopotamia; one of its famous applications is the
Ishtar Door of Babylon (image 2). Originally considered one of the World Seven Wonders, it was
built on the 5th century b.c. and decorated with lions, bulls and dragons with a strong glazed
blue as background.
The Islamic Empires were responsible for the dissemination of the ceramic tile as a wall
covering. Initially mosaics were used resembling the byzantine ones, creating drawings from
pieces of stones. But soon enough, under the ceramic Chinese influence accessible through the
silk routes, the ceramic tiles with its glaze and drawings began being used. By now they were
thicker and widely used in Islamic architecture, as an inside and outside covering, as seen at the
monumental public buildings of the Iranian city of Isfahan (image 3), capital of the Safavid
empire on the 16th century.
During the Ottoman Empire became famous a kind of ceramic tile from a Turkish city near
Istanbul called Iznik. The Iznik tiles had a special glow due to its quartz layers, and shades of red
never achieved before. Tiles motifs were generally floral, geometric or Koran passages with
beautiful Arabic calligraphy. The Iznik tiles (image 4) ended up being widely used
inside mosques because they helped to resonate the sound of prayers and gave a feeling of
amplitude, taking away the weight of the heavy structure.
In the Iberian Peninsula the ceramic tiles were introduced by Moors. At the palace of Allambra
in Granada, constructed by the Nasrid Kings in the 13th and 14th century, it is possible to see an
incredible work of art. The ceramic tiles were used there in different shapes and colors and
applied to the walls creating beautiful geometric patterns (image 5).
However, it was Portugal after the 16th century that truly embraced the ceramic tile art and
made it one of its cultural expressions. By now they were done in a squared shape, usually
measuring 5,5 inches. The ceramic tiles were used back then everywhere, from public places to
private and religious ones, on outside and inside walls (image 6).
Very popular on the 17th century, the Dutch tiles from Delft were usually decorated with
central figures and delicate ones on the four edges of each piece, creating a united appearance
when together combined (image 7). These tiles suffered great influence from the white and
blue Chinese Ming porcelain, which was imported by the Dutch East India Company and had
become a fashion back them.
In the colonial Brazil ceramic tiles from Portugal and Holland were rapidly incorporated to the
national culture as ceramic tiles are impermeable, thus protecting from humidity, are easy to
wash and the pieces reflect the sun providing good thermal environment when used on the
facades. It is easy to find nice examples from colonial tiles specially on the north and northeast
of the country, together with Rio de Janeiro state; one beautiful example being the Nossa
Senhora do Outeiro Church panel (image 8).
After the 30’s the renovation of Brazilian architecture renewed the use of ceramic tiles,
especially due to the neocolonial movement, which aimed to use traditional local materials. In
1940, Paulo Rossi Osir created the Osiarte, a company that executed amazing works such as
Portinari panel in the Ministry of Health and Education building in Rio de Janeiro (image 9),
design by Le Corbusier in 1945 together with Lucio Costa, Niemeyer and Reidy, among others.
Athos Bulcão, who was born in Rio de Janeiro and had worked with Portinari in the São
Francisco do Assis panel in Pampulha,
gave a new perspective on the ceramic tile art, integrating it beautifully with the architecture.
Working with Oscar Niemeyer from 1955, Athos filled the new city of Brasilia with his geometric
panels, with its colors and rhythms (image 10).
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal or even
glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as
tabletops. Alternatively, tile can sometimes refer to similar units, made from lightweight
materials such as perlite, wood and mineral wool, typically used for wall and ceiling
applications.
The word is derived from the French word tuile, which is, in turn from the Latin word tegula,
meaning a roof tile composed of fired clay. The expression is apparently of relatively recent
duration. It refers to the custom among cats of having fun at night on rooftops, which in Britain
are often made of tiles. The first reference to its use appears to be in the first decade of the
20th century. By contrast the use of tiles goes back a very long way. Some form of ceramic tile
has been in existence for more than 25,000 years
Tile as we know it dates from c4,700 B.C. in Egypt while glass tiles were popular in 2,500 B. C.
At Wittenham in Oxfordshire masses of Roman roof tiles were discovered in 2004 indicating
that large Roman buildings became a part of this important landscape when the Iron Age gave
way to the Roman period some 2000 years ago.
Tile making in the medieval period was associated with monasteries and palaces. Potters
travelled around the country using local clays and firing them on site. The tiles were hand made
by flattening the clay and cutting pieces into shape. The only mechanical aid was a wooden
mould carved in relief which indented a pattern on the clay slab. The slab would be dried, and
the impression filed with white pipe clay. After further drying this would be shaved flat. A glaze
of lead ore was sprinkled onto the surface and the tiles were then fired.
These ‘encaustic’ or inlaid tiles were made from the 12th to the 16th centuries. This skill
disappeared with the dissolution of the monasteries and was not revived until the Victorian era
of the 19th century.
When did tiles become mass produced?
As a result of the Industrial Revolution the manufacture of both wall and floor tiles hit a peak in
the Victorian era. During Queen Victoria's reign tiles began to be mass-produced and were used
in many public buildings, churches, shops and houses for their functional properties and
decorative effect. Victorian potters had a large, cheap labor force. Consequently, many
experiments in tile making were carried out, much of the work being done by hand. Decorated
wall tiles came into general use in the 1870s.
In the mid-18th century the importation of hand-painted glazed tiles from Holland led to their
imitation by English suppliers albeit on a small scale. This in turn led to the spectacular growth
in tile production in the early to mid-19th century led by the porcelain manufacturer Herbert
Minton, who revived encaustic tile making and developed the process of dust-pressing which is
the most common modern manufacturing method. As the mass production of tiles developed
in the Victorian era so their increasing cheapness and ease of installation in all areas of houses
led to a constant and growing demand. An encaustic tile is produced by the combination of a
plain clay tile with the filling of an area formed by stamping an impression on the tile with liquid
clay of a contrasting color and then firing to fuse the two clays.
Thus, was revived the process lost in 1538 on the dissolution of the monasteries. The early tiles
produced by Minton carried on the tradition of tiles to be installed in churches but soon
included designs suitable for public buildings and houses by which time the entry of rival
manufacturers had widened the scope and variety of tiles offered to the public. Tiles were now
being produced in technologically advanced forms with multi firings involving up to six different
colors, each of which required separate firing.
By 1850 tiled floors having been installed at many royal and aristocratic locations, crystallized
the ambitions of those who could afford it
to emulate their superiors. It was possible to compromise on cost by combining the relatively
expensive encaustic tiles with cheaper plain square and geometric tiles. A popular area for
geometric tiles in a middle-class home was the hall and the cheaper class of tile tended to be
installed in the less grand areas such as kitchens and servants’ quarters and in areas that
received most wear and tear. The very fashionable tiles offered today for installation in kitchens
would have been considered totally inappropriate in the Victorian era.
By contrast the most common area using decorative and therefore more expensive tiles was
the fireplace and artists would frequently be employed to provide designs, the more exclusive
ones being used in reception rooms rather than bedrooms.
Wealthier households embraced the Arts and Crafts movement and used tiles made by hand
rather than the mass-produced variety. Fashionable designers included William Morris and
William de Morgan and their processes of production included hand-painting, transfer printing
and the reproduction of the turquoise blue and luster glazes of ancient Persian pottery.
The discovery of ceramics ranks as one of man's earliest scientific
achievements. The early history of man is traced mainly through his ceramics. The word
'Ceramic' is derived from the Greek word "keramikos",
originally meaning burnt stuff (William Lee, 1961).1 In a general sense
ceramics may be defined as 'materials and articles made from naturally -
occurring earths" (Searle and Grimshaw, 1960).2 According to Encyclopaedia
Britannica (1973)3 , "all production of which the final result is baked clay in
different grades of hardness and purity is to be considered as ceramics".
"Ceramics is the art and technology of making objects of clay and similar
materials treated by firing" (Ceramics: The Random House College
Dictionary, 1988).4 Ceramics is largely synonymous with pottery and other
articles made of burned clay. The word "pottery in its widest sense includes
all objects fashioned from clay and then hardened by fire" (Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 1947)5.
The History of Ceramic Tile Flooring
1. 1. The History of Ceramic Tile Flooring The history of tiles should be
traced back to BC when the Egyptians began to use various types of tiles
to decorate the house. People will bricks dried in the sun or by baking
method to dry, and then use copper extracted from the blue glaze for
color. In the Islamic period, all tile decorating method in Persia reached its
peak. Subsequently, the use of increasingly popular worldwide tile, the tile
in the historical process, the Spanish and Portuguese mosaics, Italian
Renaissance tiles, glazed tiles in Antwerp, the Netherlands and the
German Development tile illustration tiles have a milestone. Mesopotamia
region also found the tiles. These ceramic floor tiles in blue and white
stripes to achieve decorative purposes, then there are more kinds of
styles and colors. Chinese ceramic art center, during the period of early
supplier Yin produce fine white stoneware. Today, worldwide, is the use of
automated production technology, the human hand is only used to operate
the equipment. As in the past, both indoor and outdoor use tiles for
decoration. Stone flooring has been in use for millennia. In ancient tiles
are handmade. That is, each one is hand molded tiles, hand colored, so
each one is a unique work of art tiles. Today, stone floors create a feeling
of luxury. They can create of mood of great formality or relaxed
informality, depending on the type of stone. Generally, marble floors are
the most formal and flagstone floors are the most informal. The natural
variation in color and pattern make stone floor tiles very beautiful, and
they are very durable as well. Ceramic tile flooring is made from clay fired
in a kiln. Then a colored glaze is added, and the tile is fired again,
2. 2. making the colors very vivid. Ceramic tile can be slippery, so they are
usually treated with an abrasive if they are to be used as floor tiles.
Unglazed ceramic tiles, called quarry tiles, are also available. They stain
easily, so they should be sealed for use as flooring. Dongpeng ceramic
have been awarded numerous honors such as China Renowned Products,
Inspection Exempted Products, "Well-known Brand of China". The fastest
growing brand corporation in the Chinese manufacturing industry "one of
500 Most Valuable Brands", Ten Leading Brands in light of Competitive
Power in Building Ceramic Industry of China and Renowned Trademark of
Guangdong Province. This article comes
from:http://www.topwholesale4u.com/the-history-of-ceramic-tile-
flooring.htm
