c1730 Manganese Purple Biblical Delft Tile Portraying Pontius Pilate and Jesus (Matthew 27:24)

Antiques : Delftware Tiles : Eighteenth Century : Biblical Motif : Manganese Purple

 

Scarce early 1700s delftware biblical tile decorated in manganese purple depicting Pontius Pilate washing his hands in the matter of the deposition of Jesus Christ. Jesus is depicted on the right with a symbolic halo aura around his head and is being escorted away by an armed soldier after the crowd selected to free Barabbas, instead. This scene is a rendering of events taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, particularly Chapter 27, Passage 24 where Pontius Pilate “took water and washed his hands” as a symbolic gesture to show that he “was innocent of the blood of this just person”. As such, Docs Antiques is pleased to offer this nearly 300 year old rendering painted by a Dutch delft decorator of a very important event in the history of Christianity. Do take a moment to let all the photos load as you read this.

In addition to the scene, this tile has several other attributes that make it visually captivating and artistically interesting. For example, the scene displays the early use of a vanishing point to give perspective to the tile floor. In addition, shading on the right side of each figure helps add further depth to the scene. The four outer corner motifs are early delicate variants of the oxhead motif and help date this tile to the 1690 to 1750 period. So if you collected delftware or other types of decorated tin enameled wares such as majolica and faience, then you may want to add this to your very special collection. It may be easily displayed in a small plate holder, picture frame or special mount and has wonderful visual appeal as well as religious historical context. It may have originally graced the wall of a church or dwelling and probably has been passed down through many hands ever since. Biblical tiles from the late 1600s up to the mid 1700s are typical manganese purple and include many different Christian events and scenes. In the photos, I also show this tile next to a mid to late nineteenth century German tile that depicts part of the event in Matthew 28 and is even labeled such (see photos).

CONDITION & SIZE: This tile is in very good condition with just one thin edge chip on the front that does not go through to the back (see photos and the edge chip is on the left side of the tile near the mid point). There is one short 1/4 inch long scratch on the face of the tile and about ten small circular glaze frits that are each less than 1/16 inch from production or wear (see photos but they are even hard to see in the photo close-ups). The glaze is lustrous and nearly without any crazing at all. The four corners are intact and the tile has no hairlines, no cracks, no restoration or repairs and no stains. The back side has some patches of soft lime mortar adhering to it and is actually fairly clean. The four mostly vertical edges or sides of the tile are also quite clean and free of mortar as well. The tile measures 12.3 cm by 12.3 cm (about 4 7/8 inches) and is 3/8 inches thick. There is C-47 painted on one edge along the side of the tile that is probably part of a numbering sequence recorded when it was removed from a panel or wall some years ago. It would be very hard to find another example of this particular religious scene in any better condition today than this example - - satisfaction guaranteed.

US MAINLAND SHIPPING: Insured USPS Priority shipping to a secure address within the US mainland is $8.70 for this tile. No handling or packing fees are charged and the tile will be double boxed and well wrapped for maximum safety. Shipping costs beyond the mainland US will be determined once your address details are provided and again only include actual shipping costs (drop me an e-mail for a quote). I will be happy to combine items from multiple purchases at just the cost of the additional insurance on any second item when it is safe to do so and as long as they are shipped to a secure address. Thanks for stopping by and looking!!

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Item ID: RL130.RLE

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