
Relief Tile from St Albans, British Museum
Yes, it’s another tile. This is an unusual tile in many ways. The most common type of tile in the fourteenth century was the encaustic tile. Whereas the design on an encaustic tile was level with its surroundings, the design on a relief tile stood proud of its background. That immediately makes this one stand apart. The second thing is that, like the Tring Tiles, it retains most of its glaze.
When Robert of Golam was abbot, in the mid-twelfth century, the chapter house at the Benedictine St Albans Abbey was paved with relief tiles. Relief tiles were more common in Eastern Europe (Germany, Denmark, Poland) than in England.
This particular tile must have been in a part of the floor that received little use, for the glaze is mostly intact and the raised parts of the tile have barely been worn down at all.
Relief tiles are among the earliest found in ecclesiastical buildings. The Anglo-Saxons used them in the late tenth and early eleventh century, but they were rare. This one dates from the mid-twelfth century (1151-1166) when they became more common in churches and abbeys.
There are two types of relief tiles: relief and counter-relief. Relief tiles have a raised design, while counter-relief tiles have a raised background. The St Albans tile is a relief tile. Its design was stamped into the clay with a wooden or metal stamp.
Sources:
Medieval Tiles – Hans Van Lemmen
Thank you for this…I love reading these short and fascinating bits of information!
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Thank you.
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Another insightful read.
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Thanks, Rachael
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They must’ve been a pain in the neck to keep free of spider webs and dust.
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That wasn’t my first thought, but now that you mention it….
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That’s also what I thought!
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It’s amazing how much can be gleaned from a dingle artifact. I enjoy the easy way you walk us through these things. Thanks!
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Thank you, Dan. It’s all in the detail 🙂
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Doesn’t look easy to walk on. Pretty though.
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No, it doesn’t. I’m beginning to wonder exactly where in the abbey it was for it to show so little wear.
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Maybe it was close to a wall or in a corner where it was spared foot traffic?
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That works. Actually it works better than my (eventual) idea that it might have been underneath something like a cope chest.
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Clearly the tile follows the European delight in using acanthus leaf motifs. These are found from Byzantium times through the Tudors, and beyond. The styling of the leaves makes me think of 11th-14th century illuminations made by monks. They were especially used to outline borders.
This is the first I can remember seeing the acanthus motifs on glazed tiles.
One wonders if they were imported or produced nearby. I suppose a study of the clay & glazes could clear that question. And they were used on floors?
I wonder how deep the original surface was? Perhaps barefoot monks would wear the surface less. It could not be comfortable to walk on, but monks tended to look for ways to perform penance. It would sure be a penance for me!
Many glazed tiles were patterned after Muslim examples, or simply imported from Muslim lands. However, I cannot remember seeing Muslim use of acanthus motifs. It bears deeper study. A delight to read & see! Thank you!
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Thank you. I think it’s a bit of a myth that monks were barefoot. The winters were very cold in the fourteenth century.
I had no idea what the pattern was based on, so thank you. The tiles were probably produced nearby. Transporting goods was pretty expensive.
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Really enjoying this series of posts. I love the British Museum and try to explore a new gallery on every visit to London. My favourite so far has been the gallery full of clocks and clockwork mechanisms, which I just find so fascinating in their design and intricacy.
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Thank you. The clocks are in the gallery next to the medieval objects. I also enjoyed the gallery by the main entrance. It has lots of items from a single collection covering several centuries.
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