Tiles Gallery

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by William McLaren

King Arthur welcomes the Green Knight into the Banqueting Hall and invites him to dismount and eat with the company. Everyone is amazed to see the unexpected visitor, holding a bunch of holly in one hand and a large green axe in the other. The Green Knight turns down Arthur's invitation, instead issuing a challenge, that if anyone there is brave enough to exchange blows with him, he will give them his battleaxe

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

The Royal dairy at Frogmore, near Windsor

The Royal dairy at Frogmore, near Windsor. The tables are of white marble...beneath them are reservoirs supplied by a clear running stream of cold water...There are ten windows of richly-stained glass...the walls of the dairy are covered with encaustic tiles of a delicate colour and pattern...Between the windows and recesses are fourteen bas-reliefs in majolica, representing the Four Seasons, and various agricultural subjects...The whole was designed by Mr John Thomas of Alpha Road, London...The majolica ware and encaustic tiles were manufactured expressly for this work by Messrs. Minton. Date: 1861

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

Interior of the shrine to Osman I, Bursa, Turkey

Interior of the shrine to Osman I or Osman Gazi, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, with tomb or Turbe, Bursa, Turkey. Cappella sepolcrale di Osman I. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by Giarre after Giulio Ferrario in his Costumes Ancient and Modern of the Peoples of the World, Il Costume Antico e Modern o Story, Florence, 1842. Copied from Ignace Mouradgea d'Ohsson's Tableau General de L'Empire Othoman, Paris, 1790

© Florilegius