Medieval Tiles at Cleeve Abbey, England

Minton encaustic tiles awaiting installation at the United States Capitol. Mintons Ltd, was a major ceramics manufacturing company originated with Thomas Minton (1765-1836 the founder of "Thomas Minton and Sons" who established

For encaustic painting see Encaustic painting

Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. For encaustic tiles see Encaustic tile Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated Beeswax to The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos) A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as Ceramic, stone, metal or even Glass. Glaze is a layer or coating of a Vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color decorate strengthen or waterproof it Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and They are usually of two colors but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern is inlaid into the body of the tile, so as the tile is worn down the design remains. Encaustic tiles may be glazed or unglazed and the inlay may be as shallow as an eighth of an inch, as is often the case with "printed" encaustic tile from the later medieval period, or as deep as a quarter inch.

What were called encaustic tiles in the Victorian era were originally called inlaid tiles during the medieval period. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities The use of the word "encaustic" to describe an inlaid tile of two or more colors is technically incorrect. The word encaustic means "burning in" from the Greek en "in" and kaiein "to burn". The term originally described a process of painting with a beeswax-based paint that was then fixed with heat. For the rock song by Nirvana see Beeswax (song. Beeswax is a natural Wax produced in the bee hive of Honey bees of the genus It was also applied to a process of medieval enameling. The term did not come into use when describing tile until the 19th century. Supposedly, Victorians thought that the two color tiles strongly resembled enamel work and so called them encaustic. Despite the error, the term has now been in common use for so long that it is an accepted name for inlaid tile work.

Encaustic or inlaid tiles enjoyed two periods of great popularity. The first came in the 13th century and lasted until Henry the Eighth's reformation in the 16th century. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of These tiles caught the attention of craftsmen during the Gothic Revival who, after much trial and error mass-produced these tiles, making them available to the general public. The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement which began During both periods tiles were made across Western Europe though the center of tile production was England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Companies in the United States also made encaustic tile during the Gothic Revival. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

In both medieval times and in the 19th Century Gothic Revival, tiles were most often made for and laid in churches. Even tiles that were laid in private homes were often copies of those found in religious settings. Encaustic tile floors exist all over Europe and the United States but are most prevalent in England where the greatest numbers of inlaid tiles were made.