This is an interesting historical tile that shows a view along the Cowgate of Edinburgh (just along the road from my old shop in the Grassmarket!).
The view dates to the early 19th century (although the tile is more late 19th century) - and it shows Cardinal Beaton's House - which was demolished.in 1868.
The ancient dwelling consisted of a hexagonal turret and was built for James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow between 1509 and 1522. It stood on the southeast corner of Blackfriars Wynd - which was widened in the 1860s as part of the Improvements Act - and is now known as Blackfriars Street.
The tile was produced by Minton's Tile Manufactory at Stoke on Trent - as impressed on the reverse. It is in excellent vintage condition with no chips or cracks. The image on the front is nice and clean with no scratching or rubbing. The image has been simply printed with brown ink and is based on published etchings of the site.
The wonderful thing about this old tile - is the fine antique wooden frame surrounding the ceramic area. I have taken lots of images of the intricate carving on it for your inspection.
This tile probably dates to around 1886. The size of the tile is 6 inches square and the size of the frame is 9 3/4 inches.
I surmise that it was probably made to be sold as a souvenir at the 1886 International Exhibition of Science and Art which was held at the Meadows in Edinburgh.
The exhibition had a reconstruction of the Old Town of Edinburgh with a selection of old buildings remade for the show and was constructed to suggest what life was like in earlier times in Edinburgh. Sadly, none of these survived after the exhibition closed as they did not receive planning permissions to remain.
Minton often had trade stands at these popular Victorian exhibitions - and this was most definitely a high-end marketplace for selling and promoting their wares. Tiles were very popular with the Victorians - and indeed Royal Doulton made some large tiled panels for their stand at this Edinburgh Exhibition. These are now on display in the Cafe Royal Bar, near the Balmoral Hotel.
An interesting piece of local history - not so many of these tiles now survive and certainly not in such fine condition or with such an attractive Arts & Crafts carved frame - this is all reflected in my asking price.
The view dates to the early 19th century (although the tile is more late 19th century) - and it shows Cardinal Beaton's House - which was demolished.in 1868.
The ancient dwelling consisted of a hexagonal turret and was built for James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow between 1509 and 1522. It stood on the southeast corner of Blackfriars Wynd - which was widened in the 1860s as part of the Improvements Act - and is now known as Blackfriars Street.
The tile was produced by Minton's Tile Manufactory at Stoke on Trent - as impressed on the reverse. It is in excellent vintage condition with no chips or cracks. The image on the front is nice and clean with no scratching or rubbing. The image has been simply printed with brown ink and is based on published etchings of the site.
The wonderful thing about this old tile - is the fine antique wooden frame surrounding the ceramic area. I have taken lots of images of the intricate carving on it for your inspection.
This tile probably dates to around 1886. The size of the tile is 6 inches square and the size of the frame is 9 3/4 inches.
I surmise that it was probably made to be sold as a souvenir at the 1886 International Exhibition of Science and Art which was held at the Meadows in Edinburgh.
The exhibition had a reconstruction of the Old Town of Edinburgh with a selection of old buildings remade for the show and was constructed to suggest what life was like in earlier times in Edinburgh. Sadly, none of these survived after the exhibition closed as they did not receive planning permissions to remain.
Minton often had trade stands at these popular Victorian exhibitions - and this was most definitely a high-end marketplace for selling and promoting their wares. Tiles were very popular with the Victorians - and indeed Royal Doulton made some large tiled panels for their stand at this Edinburgh Exhibition. These are now on display in the Cafe Royal Bar, near the Balmoral Hotel.
An interesting piece of local history - not so many of these tiles now survive and certainly not in such fine condition or with such an attractive Arts & Crafts carved frame - this is all reflected in my asking price.