Set of Three English Late 14th Century Medieval Antique Heraldic Relief Floor Tiles, Bawsey, Norfolk, c.1375–1400

This rare set of three late fourteenth-century medieval floor tiles was made at the Bawsey tilery near King’s Lynn in Norfolk, c.1375–1400.

Each is of red earthenware, moulded in relief and covered with a dark lead glaze, now worn through in places to the warm red body beneath. Within a sunken roundel, each tile shows a heraldic achievement: a shield surmounted by a helm with a cornucopia of fruit as a crest, flanked by flowing mantling, with a standing figure to one side. The three appear to come from the same design, and wear to the high points of the relief has given each its own character.

The Bawsey tilery was among the most important medieval tile workshops in eastern England. Its site was discovered in 1843 and later studied by the medieval tile scholar Elizabeth Eames. It flourished in the years around 1376, producing small square tiles decorated in relief with heraldry, animals and birds, foliage, geometric motifs and inscriptions, glazed in pale and dark tones so they could be laid in chequered pavements. Its products travelled by river and fenland waterway to parish churches and religious houses across northern East Anglia and beyond, including Castle Acre Priory. The British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum hold examples.

The heraldic tiles are among the most sought-after of the Bawsey designs. A matched set of three from the same mould, with a helm, crest and mantling that survive so clearly, is a rare opportunity to own a genuine piece of medieval Norfolk.

Provenance: Bawsey, Norfolk, England. 14th Century.

References:

1. V&A – Bawsey tile, probable arms of Rokele (dimensions)

2. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge – Bawsey roundel tile, type 45

3. Cambridge Core – Eames, The products of a medieval tile kiln at Bawsey

Material: Red earthenware, moulded in relief, with a dark lead glaze.

Condition: Commensurate with age. There is wear to the glaze and to the high points of the relief, revealing the red body in places. There are chips and small losses to the edges and corners, including a loss to the rim of one roundel. The reverses are sanded and unglazed, as made. Please refer to the images.

Dimensions: Each approximately 4 × 4 in (10 × 10 cm); depth ⅝ in (1.5 cm)