Description:
Set of six glazed ceramic tiles with similar floral designs in pink, blue, purple, green.

Label Text:
William De Morgan was involved in the British Arts and Crafts movement, which advocated for the rejection of industrial arts and a return to hand crafting. De Morgan’s designs draw heavily upon the decorative arts of the Islamic world, and in particular the 16th–17th century ceramics of Ottoman Turkey. The circular carnations as well as blue three-pronged tulips all derive from the stylized imagery of the Ottoman floral style. Though clearly a set, these tiles do not align to create a seamless pattern; they would have originally been joined by a matching number in a different design to create a cohesive composition, and a dazzling backdrop in an upper-class Victorian home.

-Kendra Weisbin, Associate Curator of Education, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (Sept. 2016)

Tags:
pottery; architecture

Subjects:
polychrome; glaze (coating by location); Architecture; Pottery

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+2013.35.1-6

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.