Encaustic / Handmade Tiles
Cement tiles are handmade colourful tiles used as floor and wall tiling. They appeared in Catalonia in the 1850s, and have been widely used in Europe.
They are mostly known throughout the world as encaustic cement tiles. Like their predecessors, encaustic clay tiles, they derive their name from the term "encaustic" which is an art term used for metal enamelling that uses a type of lost wax procedure. They have this name because of the intricate patterns and designs that mimic the encaustic enameling process. Cement tiles are not fired; there is no glaze layer on the surface of the tile. They derive their durability from the combination of a finely dehydrated ground cement layer and a more coarse layer of sand and cement. The pigment layer is hydraulically pressed into the surface and becomes a part of the tile.
They are mostly known throughout the world as encaustic cement tiles. Like their predecessors, encaustic clay tiles, they derive their name from the term "encaustic" which is an art term used for metal enamelling that uses a type of lost wax procedure. They have this name because of the intricate patterns and designs that mimic the encaustic enameling process. Cement tiles are not fired; there is no glaze layer on the surface of the tile. They derive their durability from the combination of a finely dehydrated ground cement layer and a more coarse layer of sand and cement. The pigment layer is hydraulically pressed into the surface and becomes a part of the tile.
