Tile

1750-1800

Place madeTalavera de la Reina, Toledo, Spain

Tin-glazed earthenware

Overall: 8 1/8 x 8 x 3/4 in. ( 20.6 x 20.3 x 1.9 cm )

Purchased from Elie Nadelman, 1937

Z.759

This object was once part of the folk art collection of Elie Nadelman (1882-1946), the avant-garde sculptor. From 1924 to 1934, Nadelman's collection was displayed in his Museum of Folk Arts, located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. The Historical Society purchased Nadelman's entire collection in 1937. This tile, one of three in the Historical Society's collection, was made in the Spanish city of Talavera de la Reina, a center of maiolica production from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Derived from Italian Renaissance maiolica and influenced by Moorish, Islamic, and Far Eastern designs, Talavera pottery became renowned for its polychrome decoration and freely painted images. The domestic tools depicted on these tiles provided a playful link between the pottery and the actual implements displayed in various galleries of the Nadelmans’ Museum of Folk and Peasant Arts. The Nadelmans purchased these tiles in a group of nine, all depicting household and table utensils. According to the Nadelman curatorial cards, the other tiles depicted an oil lamp, knife, powder pouch, pitcher, pan, and jar; they were never accestions by the Historical Society.

DescriptionTalavera majolica tile with polychrome decoration; red-colored body with grayish-whiteglaze; image of cauldron on tripod over fire; lower right corner broken off.

ClassificationsCERAMICS

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