EARLY PAVEMENT TILES IN IRELAND. PART III. By W. FRAZER, F.R.C.S.I., HON. F.S.A. (Scor.), VICE-PRESIDENT. THE HE first Paper which I contributed on Irish Tiles contained examples of "Armorial Tiles, those decorated with figures of animal life and ideal monsters, Ave Maria and educational tiles, and a few bearing satirical or humorous representations." These amounted to twenty-four examples. In the second Paper those tiles were considered which displayed shamrocks and fleur-de-lis, of which there were twenty-six different illustrations. The present Paper (No. 3) is devoted to such tiles as have floral patterns, and a limited number with geometric designs. It contains drawings of twenty-one tiles derived from various localities in Ireland, and in all cases the specimens figured are referred to the churches and abbeys whence they were obtained. With few exceptions, the figures are drawn from tiles in my own possession at present, or from such as have a reliable history. In all seventy-one of our Irish tiles are now figured, being more than double the number shown in Mr. Oldham's Plates; and from drawings in my possession, not yet represented, I hope hereafter to be able to contribute another Paper before concluding my descriptions of these interesting examples of medieval art. For convenience in reproduction, the tiles have been uniformly reduced to one-fourth their original size, as it would have proved a serious difficulty to their appearance on the pages of our Society's Journal, unless such an arrangement was adopted for representing the patterns. I believe they will be found equally illustrative and useful as if drawn of full dimensions. The character of the ornamentation observable in the present series leaves little room for observations of a critical character. The floral representations are, it will be noticed, rather imaginative than realistic; and, as they were intended altogether for ornamental purposes, perhaps the designers considered their productions more successful than simple Nature could produce. The juxtaposition of such tiles, it must be admitted, does display attractive and striking patterns, the effects of which can only be judged by placing a series of them in their proper arrangements. I regret to state that up to the present I have failed to obtain satisfactory proof that any of these tiles were made in Ireland, although it is possible some were burned here late in the sixteenth century. All our evidence at present goes to show that the better class especially of early tiles came from Wales or England. TABULAR LIST OF TILES WITH FLORAL AND GEOMETRIC PATTERNS. No. 1. The juxtaposition of four tiles is needful to reproduce the perfect pattern of this design, which consists of a central rose-shaped figure, surrounded by leaves and flowers, executed with much freedom and skill, though it is difficult to refer either the flower or the leaf to any special plant. The tile was discovered in 1887, at St. Audoen's Church, Dublin, during repairs made there. The pattern was impressed into the body of the tile, and subsequently coated with a thick yellow glaze; the lead of this glaze became altered to a dark colour from the action of sulphur from decaying matters in the soil, as occurred in most of the specimens obtained from this locality. I have not obtained this pattern elsewhere. No. 2.-A tile intended to be used for a border. The pattern well designed and graceful, although it is difficult to name the fruit and leaf intended to be drawn. It is figured by Mr. Oldham (see No. 7) in his Paper on Irish tiles. He considers it to represent the vine. I obtained it from St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and a broken specimen from the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey in 1886. No. 3.-There is a good example of this tile in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, and I obtained a worn specimen from St. Audoen's Church in 1887. It is of large size, composed of well-burned reddish clay, covered with pale-yellow glaze. The design is raised above the surface of the slab, and represented with much skill. But a botanist will find it difficult to recognise the plant so shown. No. 4. An impressed tile, of which I have two specimens, differing in minor details of ornamentation; both were found in St. Audoen's Church, High-street, Dublin, and one of them is figured in Street's work on the tiles found in Christ Church Cathedral. One tile was made from a palepink brick-clay, and the other had burned to a yellowish-red colour, a difference possibly due to varying degrees of heat in firing. The colour of the glaze was bright yellow. The pattern is formed by four of these tiles arranged together, and is rather handsome. Portion of a third tile made from reddish-brown clay, referable to this design was obtained in 1892, at Kildare Cathedral. The Dean of Kildare kindly submitted the fragment to me, it was sufficient to enable a sketch to be made. No. 5.-A large-sized slab covered with yellow vitreous glaze, the pattern raised upon the surface of the tile. It was found at Great Connell Abbey, county Kildare, and is represented in a supplemental plate of Mr. Oldham's "Irish Tiles." Recently about eighteen specimens of it were purchased for the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, that were dug up about ten years since near the altar of Newtown Abbey, |