Tiles are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex or mosaics. Tiles are most often made of ceramic, typically glazed for internal uses and unglazed for roofing, but other materials are also commonly used, such as glass, cork, concrete and other composite materials, and stone. Tiling stone is typically marble, onyx, granite or slate. Thinner tiles can be used on walls than on floors, which require more durable surfaces that will resist impacts.
Below are some examples of tiles with an astrological theme including a Qajar underglazed-painted tile with astrological signs of Tehran and a medieval earthenware floor tile.
A Qajar underglaze-painted moulded pottery Tile with Astrological Signs Tehran, Persia, 19th Century of square form, decorated in polychrome, the cobalt-blue field with scorpion, dog, tortoise and bear within ground of plants and flowers, in wood frame tile 26cm. x 26cm.
Sold for £ 5,400 inc. premium at Bonham’s in 2011
Medieval earthenware floor tile, lead-glazed; ram. 14thC (late) Made in: Nottingham
Reference: © The Trustees of the British Museum
Set of Twelve Italian Blue Glazed Earthenware Zodiac Tile Plaques Signed Aldo Gianni. Height 8 inches, diameter 7 inches.
Sold for $187 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle in 2019
Twelve Spanish Astrological Tiles
Sold for $650 at Nye & Company in 2019
Hexagonal Tile Ensemble with Sphinx ca. 1160s–70s By the early twentieth century, the two-story Konya Köşk had largely fallen into ruin, but architectural fragments speak to its former artistic sophistication and lavish polychrome ornamentation. The upper story of this Rum Seljuq “citadel-palace” was dominated by an iwan with balconies on three sides facing outward over the sultanate’s capital, Konya, thereby functioning as both a belvedere and a point from which the sultan could consider his dominion. The luxurious mina˒i ceramic technique of these tiles is reminiscent of that associated with the luxury vessels made in Kashan, Iran. The stucco reliefs also recall the artistic language developing both in the eastern and western parts of the Seljuq realm, which eventually extended into Christian lands, as seen in comparable stucco reliefs found at the Armenian capital at Ani. The imagery of real and fantastic animals and scenes of equestrian combat aimed to re-create an earthly paradise or the ideal life and just dominion of the sovereign presiding over this cosmos. It also offered supernatural and magical protection to the ruler, his entourage, and the sultanate. The Konya Köşk, although situated in an urban environment, evoked the ideal natural setting awaiting the sultan at his country pavilions as well as the paradisiacal ideal awaiting him in heaven.
p>Reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
This tile was once part of a highly decorated floor at Chertsey Abbey, Surrey. Pavements of decorated ceramic tiles were a medieval innovation, adding richness and splendour to great churches. They were used subsequently in secular contexts, including castles and royal residences. The tilers working at Chertsey during the second half of the thirteenth century produced work that was both decoratively and technically of the highest quality.
Here the design was created by inlaying white decoration into the surface of the tile. The subject matter for the tiles at Chertsey was varied but included scenes related to the signs of the zodiac and the labours on the months. The creature depicted on this tile may be related to signs of the zodiac, although an identification with Scorpio is uncertain. Chertsey Abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1537. Excavations in the nineteenth-century uncovered traces of its former glory and the skill of the craftspeople who worked there.
p>Reference: © Victoria and Albert Museum
