Azulejos

Commissioning handmade azulejo tiles

IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our azulejos

The Paris-based Almaviva tile studio makes azulejo tiles with great respect of ceramic tradition.

We use only manual Renaissance techniques to produce tiles and tile panels. The clay is stamped by hand and decorations are hand painted with natural oxides.
We are artisans mainly commissioned tiles and murals by architects and home designers. We often work for restoration projects since our production closely resembles ancient tiles.
Over the years we have gathered a vast image library of ancient tiles and azulejo panels.
Our showroom is in the centre of Paris.

blue Portuguese azulejo panel with angels

The azulejos: a Moorish art born in Spain

The word azulejo is derived from the Arabic word az-zulayj which means “little polished stone”. This origin shows the unmistakable Arab influence in tiles. The Moors occupied the Iberian peninsula between the 8th and the 15th century; they brought their ceramic techniques, including the opaque tin glaze. Originally, their idea was to reproduce the Greco-Roman mosaics with fragments of coloured tin-glazed tiles.

During the 12th century, tiles were cut in small pieces and assembled to create mosaics; they are known in Spain as alicatados. Later on were used cloisonné techniques known as cuerda seca (dry-string) and arista (edge). They made it possible to separate several colours on the the same tile. The city of Seville was the major centre of the Hispano-Moresque tile industry.

Wonderful examples of original Moorish tile-works can be admired in Spain in the Alhambra of Granada and the Alcazar of Seville, and in Portugal, in the Arab Room of the Sintra National Palace.

mural azulejo Lisbon with monkeys

The Italian Renaissance in Seville

A revolution took place around 1500 under the influence of the Italian Renaissance. Then appeared the type of tiles that we usually picture nowadays as “azulejos”. 
Francisco Niculoso was a painter of Italian tin-glazed pottery, known in Italy as “maiolica”. He came from Pisa and established himself in Seville in 1498. Seville tile studios had always produced tiles with geometric patterns under the Moorish influence. Niculoso started painting tiles like Italian maiolica, with smooth colour transitions. He moved from geometry to figuration with the representation of human characters, in particular religious scenes. He also introduced the so-called grotesque ornaments that had just appeared in Italy when the Domus Aurea, the palace of Nero, was excavated in Rome in the 1490s. Thanks to Niculoso tile and tile murals started depicting religious scenes, mythological characters, floral ornaments and bouquets. After Seville, these new style and techniques moved to several places such as Talavera de la Reina (province of Toledo), and the regions of Valencia and Barcelona.

Other Italians potters and maiolica painters moved to Antwerp in Flanders around 1500. Thanks to them, this new ceramic technique rapidly developed in northern Europ: Holland, England and France (see: www.delft.fr for the history of the Dutch tile).

blue and white azulejo panel

The azulejos: a decorative art developed in Portugal

It is in Portugal that the use of tin-glazed tiles in architecture culminated. During the 17th and 18th century, palaces, churches and convents, public fountains, and complete façades were covered with tiles. Besides biblical scenes, tiles murals were depicting historical scenes such as royal weddings or  famous battles, landscapes with monuments and characters, seascapes with boats, harbours and fishermen, elaborate bouquets, etc.  As their Spanish predecessors, Portuguese azulejos were first polychromatic, with vivid colours. It is under the influence of blue and white Chinese porcelain that Portuguese azulejos became mostly blue and white in the early 18th century.

Ceramic tiles are still being used nowadays in Portugal. For many travellers, azulejo tiling is therefore one of the strongest elements of the Portuguese culture.

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Francisco Niculoso

Francisco Niculoso (circa 1470 – 1529), said Niculoso Pisano, is an Italian maiolica painter of the Renaissance.

He settled in Seville, Spain, in 1498, a few years after the end of the Reconquista and the discovery of America. He introduced in Spain the Italian technique of painting on an unbaked white tin glaze, a technique known as maiolica in Italy. He enabled the evolution of the Hispano-Moresque art of azulejos tiles from geometric patterns into the representation of sceneries.

Niculoso painted ceramic panels that are true works of art; they are often signed with his name. Some of them can still be admired in their original places in Seville. For instance the chapel of the Alcazar, a complete tile-work commissioned by the Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand (see below). Other examples are the church of Santa Ana in Triana, a borough of Seville, and the monastery of Santa Paula. Some of his tiles can be also admired in the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam.
Francisco Niculoso azulejo Alcazar Seville

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Tin glaze

A tin-glaze provides a surface to lay a painted decoration on a baked piece of ceramic.

Tin oxide is a colorant that makes glaze opaque, thus enabling it to cover a fired piece of ceramic ( also known as biscuit). It was the interaction between the Islamic world and China around 850 A.D. that led to the development of tin-glaze in Persia, as a result of the the Persians’ desire to imitate white Chinese porcelain.  The formula of stannic oxide is SnO2.

 

Return to ceramic keywords

Apothecary jars

Handmade apothecary jars and objects on request

IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our apothecary jars and tableware

The Almaviva studio can manufacture collections of apothecary jars: albarello with cylindrical shape that once was used to store dried herbs, chevrette with handle and beak for pouring syrups, theriac pot, etc. Our replicas of apothecary jars are made on a potter’s wheel, fired a first time, and hand-glazed. The decorations are hand-painted onto the raw unbaked glaze and then fired a second time.

apothicary drug medicine jar Masseot Abaquesne

 

Delftware apothicary jars

Our atelier is also commissioned to handcraft tablewares: plates, dishes, dinner-services, bowls, cups, tureens, etc.

Using original 18th century moulds, we can also produce copies of various types of ancient pottery: tulip-shaped vase from Delft, Medici vases, candlesticks, ewers, trays, decorative artifacts, etc. The decorations are painted on demand and can be personalized with initials, coats of arms, etc.

tulip vase tulipiere Delft

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Art Nouveau tiles

Custom manufacturing of Art Nouveau ceramic tiles

IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our Art Nouveau tiles

The Paris-based Almaviva tile studio offers replicas of Art Nouveau ceramic tiles and murals.
These panels are made using traditional ceramic techniques employed around 1900: cloisonné technique, also called “cuerda seca“, or tubeline relief.
You can see examples of such Art Nouveau friezes and ceramic panels in our Montparnasse showroom in the centre of Paris.

Art Nouveau is an art movement that flourished in Europe between 1892 and 1914. It is characterized by the use of arabesques and curves inspired by the plant world.
Depending on the country, Art Nouveau received several denominations. In France, it is sometimes called “noodle style” or “metro style” with reference to Parisian subway entrances made in 1900 by Hector Guimard.
The French term “Art Nouveau” is also used in England. In Germany, this artistic movement is called Jugendstil, in Austria Sezessionstil, in Italy Stile Liberty, and in Spain Modernismo.
Around 1920, Art Nouveau yields to Art Deco, and straight lines replace the curved lines.
Art Nouveau is reflected in all registers of creation: painting, posters, objects, furniture, jewelry, architecture, etc. In architecture, ceramics is very present, both on façades and in interiors.

ceramic tile Art Nouveau Majolikahaus

The façades are often decorated with glazed stoneware tiles. Ceramic panels Art Nouveau also decorate the interior of restaurants or pubs, or lobbies of buildings.

ceramic tile panel Art Nouveau La Cigale Nantes Art Nouveau ceramic mural

At the 1900 World’s Fair held in Paris, much emphasis is placed on Art Nouveau ceramic. At the entrance of the Alexander III bridge, on the Esplanade des Invalides, a vast palace of stucco, called French Manufactures Pavilion, presents a profusion of ceramic sculptures and friezes along a path that went from the Seine to the Invalides. Midway was built the Porte de Sèvres, a monumental gate covered with bas-reliefs in ceramics. This gate has been preserved and is now on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, just behind the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In the centre of the door, is a sculpture of a woman in Art Nouveau style representing the art of ceramic. A frieze in bas-relief is depicting the art of pottery.

Art Nouveau ceramic Paris Porte de Sevres

The English and American Arts & crafts movement also frequently used ceramic tiles for façades and interiors. These are generally stoneware tiles with relief, and dark colours

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Islamic tiles

Handmade Islamic tiles on request

IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our Islamic Art tiles

The Almaviva studio manufactures custom-designed Islamic tiles with great respect for traditional ceramic techniques.
Over 20 years of activity, we gathered thousands of images of old tiles and panels that can be a source of inspiration for new projects: Iznik tiles, Damascus murals, Isfahan and Tunisian tiles (“Qallaline”)…
Our showroom is in Montparnasse, in the centre of Paris.

Islamic tiles: the oldest glazed tiles

The Islamic world has inherited a millenary ceramic tradition. The oldest traces of the use of bricks and glazed tiles date back to antiquity. The most famous examples are the Pyramid of Saqqara (-2620 BC.) in Egypt, and the Ishtar Gate in Babylon (-580 BC). After a long oblivion, enamel rendered ​​opaque with an oxide of tin is rediscovered by the Persians in the 9th century. This technique is then diffused throughout the Arabic-muslim world, reaching Europe by Spain, then under Moorish domination.

Iznik tile frieze

Each region of this large cultural area has developed an art of its own: Ottoman Iznik tiles and Damascus tiles in the Middle East, Safavid and Qajar tiles in Persia, Qallaline tiles in Tunisia, and Kashi gari tiles from Sindh and Multan in the Indian peninsula. 

Tile Multan Sind

The tiles manufactured in the city of Iznik since the late 15th century are probably the most beautiful examples in the world of architectural ceramic tiles. They started ornating mosques and palaces of Constantinople when the city fell in the hands of the Ottomans Turks.

Multan Kashi gari azulejo Goa

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Handmade tiles

Handmade earthenware and stoneware tiles

IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our handmade tiles

The Paris-based Almaviva studio manufactures handmade tiles that are custom reproductions of old tiles: medieval tiles, pavements of Italian majolica, azulejos inspired by Spain and Portugal, Delft or Iznik tiles, etc.
The studio is best known for producing tiles that look the same as the antique ones, but it can also produce tiles looking new, with contemporary decorations.
In our showroom located at Montparnasse in Paris, we present tiles with all sorts of patterns.

The 19th century is characterized by the industrialization of the methods of production. Stamping the clay by hand is replaced by hydraulic presses that allow manufacturing very regular tiles. The arrival of the gas oven around 1860 allows cooking at higher temperature and the development of stoneware, stronger than earthenware and therefore frost-resistant. Finally, the decor is no longer just hand-painted, but often reproduced ​​with stencils. This is the case of Ponchon or Desvres tiles in France. These tiles are used extensively to decorate kitchen walls and backsplashes. The kitchen of the house of Claude Monet in Giverny is a famous example.

Giverny Monet backsplash tiles

The 1890s mark a resurgence in the use of ceramics in architecture, both outside on façade, and indoor with floorings and murals (see Art Nouveau section). The Art Déco period, more sober, had a more limited use of decorated ceramic tiles. However, there are many examples of plain colour tiles with beautiful shaded enamels.

blue tiles Leihorra Art Deco

The Almaviva studio can make plain colour tiles for modern decors. Or tiles related to the past like this trompe l’oeil backsplash inspired by Portuguese azulejos, or these flowers coming from herbarium plates of the 18th century.

plain tile shower

backsplash azulejo trompe l'oeil eye deceiving

carrelage salle bains

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Zellige

Hand-made zellige on request.

Zellige Gallery: a Moroccan ceramic art

The Paris-based Almaviva tile studio offers custom-made Moroccan Zelliges.

You can see examples of zellige in our showroom in the centre of Paris, in the Montparnasse district. 

Just as the word azulejo, the word zellige is of Arabic origin and means “small polished stone”; these 2 words share the same etymology.

Zellige designates an ornamental technique that was developed in the Maghreb since the 10th century to imitate Roman mosaics. This art has become indissociable with the Moroccan architecture and it provides its finest examples. This art reached its apogee under the Merinid dynasty in the 14th century and extended even to Spain and Portugal. Its manufacturing process is reminiscent of both the mosaic and marqueterie. The Alhambra in Granada still preserves some beautiful zelliges of this time, sometimes called alicatados in Spain.

Maroc carreau

The zellige: a cutting technique

Terracotta tiles are glazed with a single colour and then cut with a sharp tool in various geometric shapes: square, diamond, triangle, star, cross, and other polygons. They are then combined to form a pattern, usually geometrically complex. The edges of the sherds are beveled so that when assembled, grouting can be as thin as possible.

Alhambra zellige Morroco mosaic tile

A second method involves scraping the enamel so that only the pattern appears in colour, as the rest of the tile remains in bare fired clay. With this technique, one can avoid the rigour of geometry and obtain curves.

 

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Alhambra zellige Morroco mosaic tile

Zellige (or zellij)

The word zellige certainly has the same origin as azulejos. It is an ornamental technique that has grown in Spain and North Africa since the 12th century. It has became an integral part of Moroccan architecture where the finest examples can be admired. Its manufacturing process is reminiscent of both the mosaic and marquetry. Mud bricks are glazed, these monochrome bricks are baked, cut into geometric shapes (squares, diamonds, triangles, stars, crosses, various polygons …) and then combined to form joint geometric drawings, sometimes extremely complex. The edges of the sherds are chamfered so that when assembled, joints can be as thin as possible. A second method is to scrape the enamel colour coat to design a pattern; the bare clay remaining on the rest of the tile. With this method the rigour of geometry is avoided and curves can be introduced.

It is related the moorish alicatado technique admired in Spain in palaces like the Alhambra of Granada.

See many examples in our gallery of zellige.

zellige tiles Morocco

Return to ceramic keywords.

Enregistrer

Enregistrer

Enregistrer