Nederlandse versie

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page  4

The old town centres in the province of Zeeland, with its capital Middelburg, have yielded some unusual flower tiles. Unusual in that they do not have corner motifs and the flowers are visited by disproportionately large insects and small birds insects and even birds. It is possible that the source of these decorations is to be found in the engravings of plants and animals designed by Johannes Goedaert (1617-1668). The works of this naturalist were widely read both at home and abroad.
 

page  9

The Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels possess six square portrait tiles and ten oval portrait plaques. The collection of the Simon van Gijn Museum in Dordrecht (The Netherlands) has six square portrait tiles of the same type and there are a number of specimens in other collections. It is probable that at least three sets of eight portrait tiles were produced. The square tiles may have been produced on the initiative of the tile manufacturer, whereas the set of oval plaques is more likely to have been specially commissioned.
Portrayed are historical figures from the sixteenth century from both sides in the Dutch Revolt (formerly referred to as the 80-Years’ War). The portraits are based on two sets of prints, one in a printed publication by Johannes Ghysius from 1616, the other published by Emanuel van Meteren in 1626.
On the basis of a comparison with dated and/or signed pieces of tin-glazed earthenware (see ills. 1-3), archival research and examination of the painter’s technique, Wim van de Loo attributes the production of these tiles and plaques to the tile works on Lucasbolwerk in Utrecht, which at the time was owned by Johannes Schillemans, and their execution to the works’ painter Hendrik van Kasteel, in the years 1855-1865. The evidence for the attribution is to be seen, for instance, in the shape of the letters in the inscription surrounding the oval portraits, in the characteristic manner of painting the noses and in the use of shading.
 

page  25

In the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, before wall tiles were manufactured on a large scale, fired bricks (10 x 13-16 cm in size, and c. 5 cm thick), with an image in relief, were used for the back wall of fireplaces. These ‘fireplace bricks’ were usually made in the regions of Liège and Antwerp, and, from about 1600, also in the provinces of Holland and Utrecht.
The apocryphal Bible story of Susanna, who was unjustly accused of adultery with two elders (Daniel 13), is depicted on fireplace bricks in a series of six scenes, the models for which are unknown. One of the bricks is dated on the side 1532.
At the end of the nineteenth century the brickworks of Dericks & Geldens in Druten, founded on the intiative of the architect Pierre Cuypers, again produced fireplace bricks modelled on the old ones. Some of these have the manufacturer’s mark and the year 1886 on the back. An article in the Bouwkundig Weekblad (Architectural Weekly) of 1887 mentions their application in reconstructed traditional fireplaces in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and Het Prinsenhof Museum in Delft.
 

page  31

From 1906 the businessman and Wagner enthusiast J.C. Bunge had Kareol House built in Aerdenhout. Its walls, both inside and out, were fitted with tiles and tile pictures designed by the German art nouveau ceramicist Max Laeuger (1864-1952). Kareol House was demolished in 1979. Many of the tile pictures have found a home in Dutch museums and other public buildings. This article contains a brief survey of the 22 tile pictures, focusing on the unusual way in which these were manufactured.
 

page  40

In this written portrait the noted collector Gerard Liefhebber, born in 1933, talks about his life as a collector and makes some critical observations about the world of tiles.
Liefhebber, a Freemason, worked as a Physical Education instructor. In 1962 he caught the collecting bug from a dealer in Delft and has been hooked ever since. The sale of tens of thousands of tiles to German and Danish clients provided him with the funds to finance his collection. He has investigated a number of tile forgeries, most notably those involving purple ship tiles and bible tiles. Liefhebber is critical of auctions, and believes in the importance of networking. Tiles are his passion, but he is quite detached about owning them.