18th century ceramic tile with a vase and flowers, framed

A while back I acquired part of an old Revolutionary War collection. It was a diverse assortment of 17th and 18th century artifacts – some military and some personal items and décor. In this collection there were 17th and 18th tiles with various themes. These tiles were a mixture of animals, flowers, merchants, windmills, children, etc. The one offered here is a beautiful vase with flowers, and it is already in a wooden frame and ready to hang, measuring 5 ½” x 6”.

As with this one, many 18th-century ceramic and Delft tiles have a faint purple or manganese-violet color, instead of traditional cobalt blue for several practical and economic reasons.  Instead of expensive cobalt blue, potters used manganese oxide (manganese dioxide) to paint the ceramic designs, which naturally fired into a purple, plum, or brownish-purple hue

In the 17th and18th century, Delft wall tiles were extensively used across Europe and in colonial homes for both decoration and sanitation, primarily in kitchens, dairies, cellars, and fireplace surrounds to protect walls from moisture. These popular manganese tin-glazed tiles were commonly found in wealthy homes, palaces, and, increasingly, in middle-class homes.

After almost 300 years, these tiles became available because many old buildings and houses deteriorated or were demolished, and some of these tiles survived and were salvaged. As with just about all these tiles, there is the typical wear and chips, however, this one is still in solid condition.

In “Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution” by Neumann & Kravic, there are some of these tiles shown, and they attribute them to Revolutionary War sites (see pictures). They are also on display at the Colonial Williamsburg Museum and the Yorktown Revolutionary War Museum, indicating just how popular they were in the time period. They are always a great addition to a Revolutionary War or Colonial collection.