Architectural Tiles
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Reverend Colonel Elisha Williams
(American, 1694 - 1755)
MakerMade by
Unknown
Dateabout 1740
MediumHand-pressed tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt blue decoration
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (width x depth of both tiles): 5 x 5in. (12.7 x 12.7cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineBequest of George Dudley Seymour
Object number1945.1.1165a-b
DescriptionTwo square, tin-glazed earthenware tiles with a different hand-painted cobalt blue decoration on each.
Tile (.a): The first tile has a pattern showing a group of three different houses beneath a tree on a small hill. At the base of the hill, a fence and a bridge to the right separate the land from the body of water in the foreground. There is another small house and tree on land to the left of the scene, and three tall structures located on hills in the far distance. This scene is surrounded by a border of curved lines with a large dot between each line. Each corner of the tile is decorated with with appears to be a quarter of a flower.
Tile (.b): The second tile has the same quarter flowers at each corner, and a border of curved lines with a large dot between each line, surrounding a scene. On this tile, the scene shows a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat sitting on a horse, riding up a road to the right. A structure and tree sit on a hill to the right behind the road. A dog is standing on the hill in front of the structure, looking at the man on the horse.
Each tile shows wear around the edges of the decorated surface, with small scratches that have accumulated some dirt. One tile (.a) has accumulated significant scratches and dirt on the decorated surface of the tile.
NotesHistorical Note: The Reverend Colonel Elisha Williams (1694-1755) graduated from Harvard College in 1711. He became the fourth President of Yale College. After he resigned as President in 1739 and returned from New Haven, he built his home in Wethersfield. The house was demolished in the late nineteenth century.Tile (.a): The first tile has a pattern showing a group of three different houses beneath a tree on a small hill. At the base of the hill, a fence and a bridge to the right separate the land from the body of water in the foreground. There is another small house and tree on land to the left of the scene, and three tall structures located on hills in the far distance. This scene is surrounded by a border of curved lines with a large dot between each line. Each corner of the tile is decorated with with appears to be a quarter of a flower.
Tile (.b): The second tile has the same quarter flowers at each corner, and a border of curved lines with a large dot between each line, surrounding a scene. On this tile, the scene shows a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat sitting on a horse, riding up a road to the right. A structure and tree sit on a hill to the right behind the road. A dog is standing on the hill in front of the structure, looking at the man on the horse.
Each tile shows wear around the edges of the decorated surface, with small scratches that have accumulated some dirt. One tile (.a) has accumulated significant scratches and dirt on the decorated surface of the tile.
Historical Note: Edwin Simmons, from whom the donor purchased these tiles, was a cabinetmaker who worked for the Robbins Brothers firm in Hartford, Connecticut.
Status
Not on view
