The Rundāle Palace Museum’s (RPM) decorative art exhibition ‘From the Gothic Style to Art Nouveau’ is housed in a room that was previously the west wing kitchen of the palace. It contains a panel made up of ninety wall tiles, produced in the Netherlands, depicting various scenes from the Bible.
Towards the latter part of the 1970s, the recently established RPM acquired these tiles from the State Museum of Western European Art (known today as the Art Museum RIGA BOURSE, a branch of the Latvian National Museum of Art). The predecessor of this museum bought the tiles from the Baltic German architect Alexander Schmaeling (1877-1961) in 1923 for the price of 250 lats[i]. Unfortunately, information on how the tiles made their way to the architect has been lost in the zigzags of history. Were they originally part of some old house in Riga that Schmaeling helped to redesign? Or were they acquired as antiques during some trip abroad and brought over?
Since the 17th century, Dutch tiles have predominantly been used in Europe as a luxurious material for interior wall finishes. However, originally in the Netherlands, tiles such as these had a rather practical function [ii]: they were used as skirting boards. The typical height of a skirting board was approx. 13 cm or 5 inches[iii], which is how the tiles acquired their traditional dimensions. Later, the tiles were used to decorate the interiors of kitchens and other domestic spaces.
Tiles that contained painted depictions of Bible scenes were typically four times as expensive. Hence, in the Netherlands too, these tiles were displayed in the most visible parts of the interior, such as the central object of the living space – the hearth. While Dutch tiles were used as a practical material for interior finish in Latvia’s territory (as elsewhere in Europe), they also pointed to the proprietor’s social status. Evidence for this can be found in the wall finish of palaces that belonged to Courland’s dukes. For instance, the walls of the sanitary facilities at Duke Ernst Johann’s summer residence – the Rundāle Palace – are embellished with tiles depicting pastoral and Bible scenes[iv], made in the latter part of the 1730s.
Tiles produced in Utrecht in the 1760s have also been discovered at the Rundāle Palace. These are fragments of tiles from demolished palace furnaces, which covered the base of its ornate leg frame and were also placed around the columns. The tile paintings depict a range of scenes – though primarily, various day-to-day activities, such as hunting and fishing.
A small number of Dutch tile fragments were found in the 1970s at the Luste Palace, commissioned by Duke Peter. The corner motif of these tiles – a delicately illustrated depiction of a carnation – suggests that they originated in one of Amsterdam’s manufactories. Furthermore, the manner of the paintwork suggests that their author in the 1770s was the tile painter Gerrit de Graaf (1732-1794 or 1796) from Amsterdam’s manufactory d’Oude Prins. Tiles painted in a similar manner featured in another ensemble that belonged to the dukes of Courland – the Jelgava Palace. This is evidenced by the inscription “Schloss Mitau 192” (Mitau being the official name for Jelgava city until 1917) found on the reverse side of a tile fragment, preserved at the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation (item no. 59783), and the fragments found during archaeological digs, preserved today as part of the Jelgava Palace Museum’s exposition. The walls of the summer dining room and the room adjacent to it (used as a buffet space for some time) were covered in Dutch tiles, painted with cobalt [v].
There’s a general view held among historians that the great demand for Dutch tiles – regardless of what themes or scenes were depicted on them – can be explained in a wider context. Namely, their connection to chinoiserie or everything related to Oriental fashion. The blue painted tiles were associated with the exotic Oriental porcelain and other chinoiserie items. By purchasing these, wealthy merchants and urbanites initially tried to emulate the aristocracy. The first object of chinoiserie architecture is considered to be the Porcelain Trianon, constructed in 1670, as part of the Palace of Versailles complex. Consisting of five timber pavilions, thoroughly clad in Dutch tiles and decorated with items made of Oriental porcelain, the structure nonetheless had a very short lifespan, surviving less than 20 years.
Originally, Oriental themes were used in tile painting. Later, towards the end of the 16th century, along with other scenes we see an emergence of figurative compositions: shepherds, soldiers, riders etc. Dutch tile paintwork often features scenes from the Old and New Testament. Right from the 17th century, scenes from scripture were favoured in the tile décor and remained popular for more than 250 years. Such tiles are generally referred to as “Bible tiles” (bijbeltegels in Dutch or Bibelfliesen in German). An authority in the study and research of Dutch tiles, Jan Pluis (1937) has catalogued scenes from “Bible tiles”. He gave each tile a number where the letter ‘O’ signifies a link with the Old Testament (Oude Testament in Dutch) but the letter ‘N’ signifies a link with the New Testament (Nieuwe Testament). The scenes from the Old Testament are numbered according to their appearance in scripture (the chapter and the verse). For instance, the first scene (catalogued as O 000) represents chapter 1, verse 2 in the Book of Genesis: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. [vi]”
The next scene is concerned with the third day of the creation of the world (catalogued as O 001), followed by the creation of the Sun and the Moon (catalogued as O 002) etc. Whereas scenes from the New Testament are organised according to the life of Jesus Christ – first, his birth and preparation for public life, followed by his teachings, acts of charity, parables, merit and signs, leading up to his Passion, resurrection and other milestones. As noted by Dutch tile researchers, tile painters generally preferred scenes from scripture that contained a literal (i.e. observable) message, such as those of Genesis, Exodus, the Book of Judges, the Book of Samuel, the two Books of Kings, the Gospels, the Acts and the Book of Revelations. Some themes appear more frequently than others. For example, Adam and Eve in Paradise, Abraham sacrificing Isaac, the baptism and crucifixion of Jesus[vii].
The 90 tiles in RPM’s collection (exhibited on the panel described in the opening of this article) were produced at the Tichelaar tile and faience manufactory in Makkum. This is evidenced by the corner motif – characteristic of this manufactory – as well as the Bible scenes depicted and the detail of the painting. Two belts of stripes or half-circles on the tile’s left side (painted under the hillock with the tree) are only inherent to the hands of the painters employed at this particular manufactory[viii]. This small detail is easy to spot when comparing two tiles of similar composition. As the example below shows, the tile produced at the Harlingen manufactory does not contain this belt of stripes.
The dating of the tiles – the beginning of the 19th century – has been established, following an analysis of the corner motifs. Jan Pluis has further confirmed the date in correspondence with the author of this article.
Makkum, Harlingen and Bolsward are three cities in the province of Friesland where manufactories for wall tiles once operated. They share a distinct style of tile painting, inherent to this region and hard to mistake for any other. As opposed to other manufactories, the Tichelaar tile and faience manufactory in Makkum is significant because a large number of historical documents – pay ledgers and kiln books – have been preserved there. Besides, it’s still in operation, producing wall tiles to this day. The documents preserved in the manufactory’s archive offer a glimpse into the tile-making process over the course of almost 300 years. There are only a few fragmentary lapses in time with missing documentation. Thus, it is possible to identify more than 40 names of tile painters, the dates they worked at this manufactory, and the type of tiles they painted.
There are several types of “Bible tiles”, however two of the most widely represented are: basterde histories (‘simple Bible stories’) and histories met wolken ([simple] ‘Bible stories with clouds’). The meaning of the word wolken is still unclear. These descriptions have been recorded in the historical documents of the manufactories. The painting composition of both types of tiles is simplified. Without prior knowledge, it would be difficult to identify the religious plot, since only the most crucial details of the message have been depicted. A consistent composition scheme is their most characteristic feature – the scene is painted into a landscape between two hillocks, with trees hovering above (painted using a sponge). This was a much faster and simpler method than painting each individual branch and leaf with a brush. The sponge has been used in Frisian tile painting since the 1720s.
The panel at RPM exhibits 36 basterde histories tiles and 54 histories met wolken tiles. Their distinct corner motif – the head of an ox or the spider (one on each corner of the tile) – is their most characteristic detail. The head of an ox is a corner motif that emerges as a line from the corner of the tile, branching out into two spirals (called ‘the stem’). There are two thicker lines on each side of the spiral (the so-called ‘horns’), with the longer line drawn closest to the edge of the tile. An ornament that resembles an arrow is drawn between the shorter lines. These tiles use the dotted ox head corner motif, i.e. its stem has been supplemented with dots. In general, the ox head corner motif is specific to tiles that depict Bible scenes[ix].
As evidence shows, tile painters were paid slightly more for the first type of tiles (basterde histories) than the second type (histories met wolken) – perhaps because drawing the corner motif with the head of an ox using a brush was a lengthier process[x].
Jan Pluis has catalogues 319 scenes from the Old Testament and 273 scenes from the New Testament, used in Dutch tile painting produced by various manufactories. Evidently, scenes from the Old Testament were favoured more in The Netherlands. A narrower selection of scenes have been used on Frisian tiles. His abstract argues that basterde histories type of tiles have only 15 known scenes from Old Testament and 47 from the New Testament [xi].
RPM’s display contains eight tiles, depicting three popular scenes from the Old Testament: Jacob wrestling with the angel (Exodus, 32: 25-26), The spies (Numbers 13:23) and Elijah being fed by the ravens (First Book of Kings, 17:6). Jacob wrestling with the angel was such a popular scene that it was produced by all four Frisian tile manufactories. The scouts depicts men from different tribes of Israel going to investigate the Promised Land to find out what type of people live in Canaan, what kind of cities they have, and how fertile their land is. Moses said to them: “Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Which is why, having reached the Valley of Eshcol, the spies “cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes.” The tile painting depicts an enormous cluster of grapes attached to a pole, carried by two men.
82 tiles (therefore, the larger proportion) depict events from the New Testament, with the Gospel of Matthew featured most frequently (11 different scenes). For example, The temptation of Christ can be identified on six of the tiles, telling the story of the devil tempting Jesus – who has been fasting in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights – and demanding that he turn the stones into bread to prove that he truly is the Son of God. We can see two associated figures on the tile painting – the devil with hyperbolised horns and Jesus with a halo. The Bible mentions that the action takes place in the desert. However, the background of the tile shows lush, green trees that don’t resemble a desert at all. This tile painting, akin to the others, draws inspiration from the nature in Friesland.
The ornamentation of the tiles brings to mind Jesus’ teachings about hypocrisy (the Gospel of Matthew 7:3): “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” The paintwork contains attributes appropriate for this scene – the log in the eye of one figure and a speck (splinter), drawn as a thin line, in the eye of the other.
Thirteen of the tiles depict the act of healing, performed by Jesus, as described in chapter 8. They portray a scene where the centurion from Capernaum begs Jesus to heal his servant. One of the tiles is particularly special. It’s the only known Dutch tile, discovered in Latvia’s territory, that carries the mark of its maker (steenmakersletter) – the inscribed letter “A”. Marks such as these are only found on Frisian tiles, with the earliest known example dating back to the middle of the 18th century. The letter is the initial of the tile maker, inscribed for practical reasons – to keep a tally of his produce [xii]. It is helpful to note here that the two most important roles in the process of tile production were the tile maker and the tile painter. The maker shaped the tiles from a lump of clay, whereas the painter decorated the after the first firing.
Chapter 9 from the Gospel of Matthew also heralds Jesus healing people. Frisian tiles depict only two of these scenes [xiii]: the woman who touched the fringe of Jesus’ cloth becoming healed by faith (verses 20-22) and how the two blind men retrieved their sight after Jesus touched their eyes (verses 27-30). Portrayals of both scenes are on display at RPM’s exposition. The Bible states that “as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”” However, in Makkum manufactory’s typical style, this scene is simplified, depicting Jesus with only one of the two men.
The next scene, depicted on the tile panel, is Christ giving the keys to St. Peter. This act is described in chapter 16 where Jesus says: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (…).” The scene has been simplified – the keys mentioned in the title are not even visible on the tile. The fact that the key to the Kingdom of Heaven must be in Jesus’ right hand is evident from other tile samples, produced at different manufactories.
Chapter 26 of the Gospel of Matthew describes scenes that are often depicted in sacral art, i.e. Jesus prays in Gethsemane, Kiss of Judas and Peter’s denial. The scene Peter’s denial calls for a more detailed exploration because scripture proclaims: “And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” However, the example at RPM does not depict the rooster, nor the weeping Peter. That’s because tile painters who portrayed these scenes tended to divide the story into two separate parts. One shows Peter with the rooster while the other portrays an armed man taking away the betrayed Jesus. RPM’s collection houses an example of the part where a soldier leads Jesus away. Other Frisian tile manufactories combined both scenes into one.
The penultimate chapter of the Gospel of Matthew describes the trial presided over by the governor, Pontius Pilate. Two scenes are depicted from this: Pilate’s wife intercedes for Jesus (27:19) and Pilate washes his hands in innocence (27:24). The first image below shows the full story of Pilate’s wife intercedes for Jesus: Pilate’s wife addresses her husband while Jesus and a guard are stood next to them. The second image shows an abridged version of the plot – the Pilate, seated outside, and his wife Claudia Procles. The third image shows a tile from RPM’s collection – the second part of the scene Pilate’s wife intercedes for Jesus where Christ is depicted with his hands behind his back, next to a soldier. In a similar manner, the scene Pilate washes his hands in innocence was often divided into two parts, and the example at RPM shows only one of these.
Among their tile paintings, the Frisian tile manufactories – where the tiles from RPM’s collection were produced – depicted only one scene from The Gospel of Mark. Namely, the handing of John the Baptist’s head to the daughter of Herodias, Herod’s wife (known as Salome). She was born from Herodias’ prior marriage to Herod’s brother Philip. John the Baptist condemned Herod’s union with Herodias: “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” For that reason, Herodias despised John and wanted him dead. An opportune moment arose during Herod’s birthday feast, when her daughter danced in such a way that the king was ready to fulfil her every wish. Urged by her mother, she demanded John the Baptist’s head. The tile painting shows the first part of chapter 6, verse 28, where the executioner hands John the Baptist’s head to the girl across the table laid out for the feast. The second part of the verse where she hands the sacrifice over to her mother in turn, has not been portrayed. In some tiles, you can even make out the dishes on the table. Scripture suggests that Herod’s feast took place indoors – and often that’s how it’s depicted. However, the example from RPM’s collection shows the feast taking place outdoors, just like some of the other episodes portrayed in this tile composition.
The composition from the Gospel of John contains two scenes. Healing at Bethesda tells the story of Jesus healing a feeble man at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. That’s where the sick had been waiting for a miraculous stirring of the water –whoever got in first would be healed. Jesus healed a man who hadn’t been able to get up from his bed for 38 years. The painting on the tile depicts the moment when Jesus says to him: “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” The next verse states that “at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.” This is the exact moment depicted on the tile – a man carrying a large sack on his shoulders (i.e. his bed), with Jesus stood next to him.
Two of the painted tiles portray a scene from the Gospel of John, chapter 19: verse 1 describes the flagellation of Christ. It shows Jesus, tied to a pillar, and a man holding a whip in each hand (which looks more like a bunch of twigs), ready to strike. This is part of the passion of Christ, described in the Gospel of John – Jesus’ betrayal, his imprisonment, trial, flagellation, crucifixion and his subsequent burial. The figure of Jesus can be recognised by the halo.
In Latvia’s territory, tiles from the Makkum manufactory are preserved in several collections. Among others, Heinz Pirang (1876-1936), the German Baltic architect and historian of architecture, considered them to be unique artifacts of heritage. In the 1912 edition of Jahrbuch der Bildenden Kunst in den Ostseeprovinzen he published a photograph from the kitchen of the Bišumuiža (Bienenhof) manor house, with a separate photograph of the 10 tiles found in the kitchen. In the photo, walls of the kitchen and the outer part of the arches are covered with Dutch tiles featuring Biblical scenes, as well as flower vases and classic elements of the Dutch landscape – windmills, bridges, canals, and sailboats. Items preserved in private collections indicate that the tiles on the walls of the Bišumuiža manor house kitchen were once in a purple manganese colour. This is a great rarity as nowadays only 4,000 tiles of this type with purple manganese decoration are known. The residential building was constructed in the early 19th century when the wealthy Brandenburg family of Riga merchants owned the estate. The ‘Bible tile’ scenes and the style of paintwork of the foreground landscape details suggest that these can be attributed to the Tichelaar tile and faience manufactory. The dating of the tiles – the beginning of the 19th century – has been established following a close analysis of the corner motifs, further confirmed by Jan Pluis, in correspondence with the author of this article.
Karl von Hahn’s (1889-1942) childhood memories from the Linde Manor have been preserved. The interior walls of the hall in the manor house were covered in ‘Delft tiles’ with depictions of Bible scenes. They had brought joy to him and other children in the family, because each tile was unique [xiv]. This is just one example that illustrates the didactic function of the ‘Bible tiles’ – daily reminders of the message of the Bible. The term Glasierte Predigten [xv] (“glazed sermons” in English) describes this rather accurately. Therefore, ‘Bible tiles’ can also be regarded as part of the heritage of European sacral art.
It should be noted that, historically, the commonly used term ‘Delft tiles’ has been inaccurately adopted. Delft – the city in South Holland – was one of the most significant centres for production of ceramic tableware, though only some of its 34 manufactories produced tiles [xvi]. Therefore, the term ‘Delft tiles’, as encountered in earlier literature sources, should be regarded as a general reference to Dutch tiles produced in various manufactories.
Since the end of the 19th century, Dutch wall tiles are a disappearing artifact of domestic culture. The Industrial Age introduced new, more effective methods of production, rendering manual labour too expensive and time-consuming. Great Britain and Germany became the two most significant tile production centres in Europe. However, due to popular demand, they continued to produce wall tiles with typical scenes of the Dutch landscape and figures in Dutch national costumes, wearing wooden clogs. The photograph from the bathroom of the Veckārķu castle, depicting an industrially produced wall tile with Dutch motifs, is the only known example to date in the territory of Latvia depicting a wall tile with Dutch motifs, industrially produced at the beginning of the 20th century. Since the 1970s, wall tiles were made using different technological possibilities. Different methods of decoration were preferred, and Bible scenes fell out of favour.
The Dutch tiles preserved in the RPM’ collection are diverse – both in terms of their themes, as well as their places of production, and acquisition. The historical interiors of the palace contain original tiles manufactured in Utrecht in the late 1730s, as well as their replicas depicting pastoral scenes with shepherds and stories from the Bible. The splendid adornment of the palace’s tile stoves initially utilized tiles manufactured in Utrecht 30 years later, depicting various domestic scenes. Although evidence of Dutch tiles in Latvia is fragmented, it is possible to conclude that among the tiles preserved to this day, ‘Bible tiles’ are the most prevalent.
The author: Agnese Tambaka, Art Historian
[i] The author expresses her gratitude to Baiba Uburģe, the curator of Curator of Foreign Decorative and Applied Arts Collection at the Art Museum RIGA BOURSE, for the information provided.
[ii] Oczko, P. The Scripture on Tiles: Dutch Tiles as an Example of the Biblical Culture of Everyday in the Republic 10 (2). (Werkwinkel 2015) p. 72
[iii] One Amsterdam inch (Amsterdamse duim) = 2,57394 cm
[iv] For more information, please see Lauma Lancmane’s article in the series The Tales of Things: “Utrecht tiles in Rundāle Palace”: www.rundale.net/en/museum/collection/the-tales-of-things/utrecht-tiles-in-rundale-palace/
[v] Lancmanis, I. Jelgavas pils, ed. 3 (Riga, Zinātne 2006) p. 145-146
[vi] Here and elsewhere, the Bible citations have been taken from the English Standard Version of The Bible, published in 2001
[vii] Pluis, J. Tegls met bijbelse voorstellingen (Zutphen, Tesink 1969) p. 8
[viii] Pluis, J. Bijbeltegels. Bijbelse voorstellingen op Nederlandse wandtegels van de 17e tot de 20e eeuw. Bibelfliesen. Biblische Darstellungen auf niederländischen Wandfliesen vom 17. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert (Munster, Ardey-Verlag 1994), p. 116
[ix] Pluis, J. As above. – p.98
[x] Pluis, J. As above. – p. 93
[xi] Pluis, J. As above. – p. 115–118
[xii] Pluis, J. De Niederlandse Tegel: Decors en benamingen 1570–1930 / The Dutch Tile: Designs and Names 1570–1930 (Leiden, Primaversa Oers 2104) p. 130–132
[xiii] Pluis, J. Bijbeltegels. Bijbelse voorstellingen op Nederlandse wandtegels van de 17e tot de 20e eeuw. Bibelfliesen. Biblische Darstellungen auf niederländischen Wandfliesen vom 17. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert (Muster, Ardey-Verlag 1994) p. 117–118
[xiv] Lancmanis, I. Herrenhäuser in Kurland: Veröffentlichungen von Dr. h.c. Imants Lancmanis in der lettischen Kunstzeitschrift Māksla Plus mit genealogischen Ergänzungen und erweitertem Bildmaterial // Herrenhäuser in Kurland No. 5 (2012) p. 35–36
[xv] Fliesenbibel (Weener, H. Risius 2008) – p.7
[xvi] Pluis, J. De Niederlandse Tegel: Decors en benamingen 1570–1930 / The Dutch Tile: Designs and Names 1570–1930 (Leiden, Primaversa Oers 2104) p. 93–94
24.05.2024