Like you, I also love tiles! Do you want to know a little about the history of the azulejo?
The word azulejo comes from the Arabic azzelium which means “polished stone”, used to design mosaics by Muslims. Nowadays, we can say that it refers to a piece of ceramics, usually square, with one side glazed.
The art of tile making would take root in the Iberian Peninsula under the influence of the Arabs who, to the conquered lands, brought the unknown mosaics to decorate the walls of their palaces, giving them shine and ostentation through a complex geometric game.
The first examples used in Portugal – the hispanic moriscos -, they came from Seville at the end of the 15th century and were used to cover the walls of palaces and churches. About seventy years later, in 1560, pottery workshops began to appear in Lisbon that produced tiles using the faience technique, imported from Italy.
But if you want to know more, there is no way to visit the National Tile Museum.
Portugal is known for its facades of Portuguese tiles, present in churches, convents, railway stations, monuments or simply on the facades of houses. And we can find them from north to south.
Some are prettier than others, some smooth, others embossed, some monochrome others colorful, but I like them all! The tiles are pieces that tell stories, that transport us to other times and to the mind of the artist. It is our duty to keep this art alive.
Since I can't "pull" them off the walls, I bring them with me, in photographs.
And since beautiful things are meant to be shared, I had to share them with you through the application in articles. The images are used on covers to protect books, covers for diaries, covers for A4 notebooks, folders, among others.
The images are printed on PVC canvas and coated with crystal mica to protect them.
And by the way, a curiosity about the Portuguese tile. Do you know why the most traditional tiles are blue and white?
When trading with the East began, Europeans were fascinated by the elegance and delicacy of Chinese porcelain. This was difficult to manufacture, as it used an ingredient that did not exist in Europe at the time, becoming a luxury object of great rarity and a symbol of wealth. In the 17th century, in an attempt to imitate it, the Dutch began to manufacture tiles in the same blue and white tones as Chinese porcelain. Tiles pleased the Portuguese so much that bulky imports were ordered from Holland to decorate Portuguese facades.
And now, don't forget to take a look at the small tile display in our store. In collections Azulejos