Victorian Era: Blue and White Tiles
Victorian Overview Victorian Tiles Arts & Crafts Pre-Raphaelite Medieval
Catalog Articles Installations How to Order Site Map Contact
Victorian Overview Victorian Tiles Arts & Crafts Pre-Raphaelite Medieval
Catalog Articles Installations How to Order Site Map Contact
Of blue choose those shades that have the pure, slightly grey, tone of indigo dye (varying somewhat, of course, on different materials). The quality of thiscolour is singularly beautiful, and not easy to describe except by negatives : it is neither slatey, nor too hot, nor too cold, nor does it lean to that unutterably coarse green-blue, libellously called "peacock" blue; it has different tones, brilliant sometimes, and sometimes quiet, reminding one now of the grey-blue of a distant landscape, and now of the intense blue of a midday summer sky, if anything can resemble that. ~May Morris
William Morris, Kelmscott blue and white china collection
There is little that is more "Victorian" than the love of blue and white ceramics. Delft, Chinoiserie, Iznik, even mass-produced Minton Willow found places in Victorian homes. William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti both displayed prized blue and white china collection in their homes.
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Not every tile from each set shown here. Some tiles are available on marble and ceramic, most only ceramic. Follow the links to the product pages to see colors and variations.
William Morris Designs in Blue and White
Blue and White Birds and Beasts
Kelmscott House Blue and White Poppies
Morris and De Morgan Sunflowers
Kelmscott Manor Persian Diaper Pattern
Strawberry Thief Backsplash and Borders
Blue and White Strawberry Thief
Many of these tiles are available in a variety of sizes, and have other options. Follow the image / link to see all the variations and choices. Also see Blue and White Floral Tiles for other early blue and white tiles.
Several of these are tiles from the fireplaces at Kelmscott Manor and Kelmscott Press. Others were produced at Merton Abbey in liaison with William De Morgan, who had set up his own shop down the road from Morris and sold his tiles through Morris & Co. Follow the image / link to see all the variations and choices. Also see Blue and White Floral Tiles for other Kelmscott tiles.
