Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Old Dutch Delft Tiles


Old Dutch Delft tiles are a warm decorative addition to a kitchen wall, or they can be stunning as a fireplace surround. They can be grouped and framed, or framed singly and hung in groups. Historically, decorative tiles were used in homes as grand decorations, or in more functional areas where easy to clean surfaces were useful. Tiles were also the surfaces of the great tile stoves of continental Europe. Recently, I had the opportunity of acquiring several hand-decorated Dutch Delft tiles made circa 1880. They were brought to Canada by Dutch immigrants in the early 1950s. When I bought them, they were still carefully wrapped in Dutch newspapers dated 1952. I would love to know the story of each tile from the time of manufacture.
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