Set of 5 Antique Art Nouveau Floral Tiles – Henry Richards Tile Co. (HRT & Co), c.1900 – Green & Brown Stylised Flower Design
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A charming set of five original Art Nouveau fireplace tiles made by the Henry Richards Tile Company (HRT & Co), Tunstall, Staffordshire, circa 1900. Each 6-inch tile features a stylised central flower framed by flowing green whiplash leaves and bell-shaped buds, in the distinctive sinuous style of the Art Nouveau period.
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Transfer-printed in brown with hand-applied coloured glazes under a clear glaze. The backs bear the impressed HRT & Co mark with ribbed lines typical of Henry Richards production.
All in good antique condition with light surface crazing, glaze wear and traces of old mortar. A superb decorative set for collectors or for use in a period fireplace restoration.
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Approx. size: 15 cm × 15 cm (6 in × 6 in).
Origin: Tunstall, Staffordshire, England.
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The impressed HRT & Co back with diagonal ribs and three round “keying” pads is a documented Henry Richards Tile Co. backstamp; the British Museum notes exactly this back and dates comparable Art-Nouveau florals to c.1908–12.
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Henry Richards issued several illustrated pattern books (e.g., Art Mosaics – Catalogue K) in the 1900s; these catalogues are the primary place where designs/pattern numbers are recorded.
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Background on the firm and its move to the Pinnox Works (and the later “Richards Tiles Ltd” name) helps anchor the date range (1903–1931).
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Collectors and historians note that this type of whiplash floral appears in Henry Richards’ 1905–06 catalogues and is illustrated in Jim Austwick’s The Decorated Tile (the same source the British Museum cites for the mark). I couldn’t find a free scan of the exact plate online, but multiple references point to those catalogues.
Set of 5 Antique Art Nouveau Floral Tiles Henry Richards Tile Co. (HRT & Co)
Date:
Circa 1900s
Dimensions:
Approximately 15cm x 15cm (6 inch x 6 inch)
