Ceiling tiles
Unknown Artist
mid-16th century
Medium
Tin-glazed earthenware
Dimensions
Each tile: 11 5/8 × 5 in. (29.5 × 12.7 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Pottery
Culture
Spanish, Seville
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Myron and Anabel Taylor Foundation Inc., 1960
Accession Number
60.119.482–.490
Art Historical Context
These exquisite ceiling tiles, crafted in mid-16th-century Seville, Spain, exemplify the golden age of Spanish ceramics. Produced during the Renaissance, when Seville emerged as a thriving hub for pottery production, these tin-glazed earthenware pieceseach measuring 11 5/8 × 5 in.) were designed for architectural decoration, adorning ceilings in grand homes, palaces, or religious buildings. Their modest size allowed for intricate patterns to cover vast surfaces, transforming ordinary spaces into dazzling displays of artistry. The tin-glaze technique—applying a tin oxide coating over earthenwa...