Four tiles
Designer: Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852)
Manufacturer: Minton & Co (marked as such)
Date mark: 1867
6 inches (15 cm) square
Inlaid and glazed
As for the four patterns here, the Agnus Dei is one of Pugin's favourite motifs, and the pelican feeding its young with drops of blood from its own breast is another ancient Christian symbol that he liked, in this case adopted from pre-Christian times. Pugin's work also often features Gothic initials with stylised floral patterns: these tiles have the Greek letters alpha and omega — the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet — signifying the beginning and the end. The pelican with its young is a particularly attractive design. [Commentary continues below.]
"The Lamb of God and Our Lord shedding his Blood for the World" (Pugin's early illustrations of the two emblems seen on the tiles, together with his own caption for them [61]). The tile versions are quite different in composition, and more stylised, but their meanings are the same.
Where were the tiles designed to be used? Michael Fisher points out in a useful article on this subject that Pugin was drawn to Minton by the latter's "passion for technical improvement," and that he "actually encouraged Minton to put some of his tiles into general production" — because, in such cases, Minton did not charge him for making up the pattern. So "Pugin" tiles could go to various clients.
The date might seem puzzling too. After all, by 1867 both Pugin and Minton had passed away. Again, Fisher explains:
Following Pugin’s tragic death in September 1852, Minton maintained the connection through Edward Welby Pugin, the architect’s eldest son, who picked up his father’s unfinished commissions, and undertook many of his own, incorporating tiled pavements, notable examples being at Chirk Castle near Llangollen, Abney Hall (Greater Manchester); and looking beyond Herbert Minton’s own death in 1858 the production of Pugin-style Gothic tiles continued to the end of the century in the kilns of Stoke-on-Trent and the Severn Valley.
In this way, the collaboration between Pugin and Minton continued to bear fruit long after the two men had left the scene.
References
Fisher, Michael. "Pugin's Designs and Minton Tiles." Web. 26 May 2014.
Pugin, A. Welby, Architect. Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume: Compiled and Illustrated from Ancient Authorities and Examples. London: H. G. Bohn, 1844. Internet Archive. Uploaded by the Research Library, Getty Research Institute. Web. 26 May 2014.
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Last modified 27 July 2016