Antique Minton Tile of ‘Classical Figures with Musical Instruments’ by John Moyr Smith

An antique Minton tile from the series ‘Classical Figures with Musical Instruments’ designed by the artist John Moyr Smith.

This 8 inch tile depicts a woman in noble dress playing a lyre, in a beautiful neoclassical style on a striking gold ground, surrounded by a mute blue border.

At nearly 150 years it is in a beautiful clean condition, the perfect decorative feature for modern and period properties looking to add vibrancy and charm.

We are also selling further sets of tiles in the same design. Each illustration is hand painted depicting various types of classical musicians in the same beautiful colours.

Some tiles in this series include scenes from Shakespeare and one illustrating ‘Early English History’.

John Moyr Smith (1839-1912) & Classical Figures with Musical Instruments

This tile series titled ‘Classical Figures with Musical Instruments’ by Glasgow born artist John Moyr Smith dates to circa 1875-1890. You can currently find one example on display in the V&A Museum, London.

Made by Minton & Co, Stoke on Trent, these tiles were originally designed to decorate cast-iron grates that began to appear during this period.

These grates were specifically designed to be set with tiles, and pictorial tiles became popular for this purpose, and series of picture tiles, such as Smith’s, were produced.

The striking tiles we have available are a glimpse into 19th century England.

Smith, architect turned artist, book illustrator and designer, worked primarily for Mintons Ltd and many of his designs were used to decorate items at Minton’s Art Pottery Studio, London