Dutch heritage revisited
20th century Traditional Tiles
Following the decline and collapse of the Dutch tile production industry in the early 1800s, the interest for this product – which is so much part of the Dutch cultural heritage – started to retain traction again in the 1880s.
Notably in the northern part of the country (the province of Friesland) and in Utrecht, tile manufacturers reintroduced traditional production and painting techniques, taking inspiration from decorative patterns and designs that date back to the 17th and 18th century.
Today, the most famous of these are the ‘Makkum tiles’.
The village of Makkum has a long history of ceramic production. Already in 17th century the town was well-known for its distinctive blue and white tiles, which were prized for their intricate designs.
The most prominent tile manufacturers in Makkum was the Tichelaar company, founded in 1572 and still in operation today. Tichelaar specialized in tiles featuring traditional Dutch motifs such as windmills, landscapes, seascapes, and traditional professions.
Since the 1930s, and notably during the period 1960-1990, Tichelaar produced highly popular traditionally themed tiles; entirely hand-painted, of superb quality, and well sought after by collectors around the world.
"These hand-painted 20th century tiles are more than mere decoration; they are narratives etched in clay, capturing the spirit, culture and history of a nation."
Blauwe Roos Antiek
In addition to Tichelaar in Makkum, there are various other 20th century Dutch tile manufacturers that produced their tiles in the traditional way, based on designs that date back to the 17th hand 18th century. Most of them decorated their tiles by hand, albeit some used the less-labour intensive transfer technique that is so common in other countries. To name a few (as represented in the Blauwe Roos collection):
>Harlinger aardewerk- en tegelfabriek, Harlingen (since 1972)
>Westraven tegel- en faiencefabriek, Utrecht (1907 – 1985)
>Royal Mosa, Maastricht (since 1883)
Société Céramique, Maastricht (1863-1958)
Drop us a mail if you're looking for specific tiles
Blauwe Roos Antiek has a very large stock of traditional Dutch tiles. If you are looking for specific themes, color schemes, producers, or larger quantities of tiles in the same style, please drop us a mail at: info@blauweroos-antiek.nl
We will gladly send you pictures and price information of tiles that meet your criteria.
Just a few examples
