Tile

Made by: Paul Revere Pottery of the Saturday Evening Girls club (active 1908–1942)
Decorated by: Sara Galner (American, born Austria–Hungary, 1894–1982)

February 1914

Object Place: Boston, Massachusetts

Medium/Technique Earthenware with glaze

Dimensions Overall: 1 x 14 cm (3/8 x 5 1/2 in.)

Credit Line Gift of Dr. David L. Bloom and Family in honor of his mother, Sara Galner Bloom

Accession Number2008.1604

NOT ON VIEW

CollectionsAmericas

ClassificationsCeramics – Pottery – Earthenware

The bold black lines that defined the designs were executed three ways: painted on with black glaze, applied using the cuerda seca wax process, or incised and filled with the black-tinted wax, a common modification of the cuerda seca process. In the ancient cuerda seca (Spanish for "dry cord" or "dry string") technique, the artist applys thin strips of black wax (tinted with manganese) to create the outlines of their designs. The wax formed a barrier that separated glazes, then burned off in the kiln, leaving scorched black outlines surrounded by thick, bubbling colors.

DescriptionThe round tile has a slightly raised, rounded green rim. The central landscape scene is surrounded by a black line and filled with abstracted trees of brown trunks and green tops on a patch of green in the foreground and a lake, blue sky, and green hills in the background.

Inscriptions"S.E.G. / 2-14 / S.G." and paper label [bowl shop] with pencil: "Trr [?] 105" and "2-"

ProvenanceEarly history unknown; group inherited or purchased at auction or on Ebay by David L. Bloom, Boston, Massachusetts, between 1982 and 2005; 2008, given by David L. Bloom and family to the Museum (Accession Date: January 21, 2009)