Not on display

Tile

16th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This tile was made in Spain in the sixteenth century, using a technique known as cuenca. This involved pressing a mould into a clay slab to create a raised outline of the design with hollows between. These hollows were known as cuenca, which means 'bowls' in Spanish. The hollows were then filled with coloured glazes, in this case, with blue, green and copper. The technique was developed from an earlier method called cuerda seca which means 'dry cord'. To make these tiles, wax was drawn on the tile surface to make a resist outline. Different colours were then applied into the spaces in the design. The purpose of the wax line was to stop the colours from running into each other. However, sometimes this did happen as the line melted away during the firing.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Tin-glazed earthenware
Brief description
Tile, tin-glazed earthenware, geometric cuenca pattern; Seville (Spain), 16th century.
Physical description
Tile, earthenware, square, with a moulded geometric pattern filled in with tin-glaze pigments of white, blue, black, green and amber.
Dimensions
  • Length: 13.9cm
  • Width: 13.9cm
  • Thickness depth: 2.4in
Gallery label
(16/07/2008)
Tile
Made in Seville, Spain
Tin-glazed earthenware

184-1853
Object history
Formerly Bandinel Collection.
Summary
This tile was made in Spain in the sixteenth century, using a technique known as cuenca. This involved pressing a mould into a clay slab to create a raised outline of the design with hollows between. These hollows were known as cuenca, which means 'bowls' in Spanish. The hollows were then filled with coloured glazes, in this case, with blue, green and copper. The technique was developed from an earlier method called cuerda seca which means 'dry cord'. To make these tiles, wax was drawn on the tile surface to make a resist outline. Different colours were then applied into the spaces in the design. The purpose of the wax line was to stop the colours from running into each other. However, sometimes this did happen as the line melted away during the firing.
Bibliographic reference
Ray, Anthony. Spanish Pottery 1248-1898 : with a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum London, V&A Publications, 2000
Other number
911 - Spanish pottery, Ray (2000)
Collection
Accession number
184-1853

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Record createdJuly 16, 2008
Record URL
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