Antique Ravesteijn Delft Tile of Woman in Turkish Dress

An antique Delft tile of a woman in Turkish dress manufactured by Ravesteijn of Utrecht after an original 16th century drawing titled ‘Donna Dell’isola di Malta’ by French geographer, Nicolas De Nicolay (1517-1583).

The decorative 6-inch tile displays an intricate illustration of a woman wearing a long cloak with hood in a rural setting within a roundel, with sunflower spandrels to the corners. Handpainted in an expressive blue colour on a white background, 19th century delftware tiles in this manner are widely attributed to the Ravesteijn tile factory in Utrecht, Netherlands.

We are also selling various other Delft tiles by Ravesteijn of Utrecht; ideal for a collector’s cabinet.

Nicolas De Nicolay (1513-1587)

Artist, geographer and spy, Nicolas de Nicolay, first had his work published in French in 1567. It was quickly translated into various other European languages. This was a combination of a travelogue with a survey of the Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, spanning much of Southeast Europe, West Asia and North Africa.

The figure illustrated on this tile represents a snippet of 16th century Ottoman life, taken from the Dutch translation of the book ‘Navigations et pérégrinations orientales’ by Nicolas de Nicolay, published in Lyons in 1568.

A print of Nicolay’s illustration on which this tile is based forms part of the collection of The British Museum – see it here.

In the 19th century, Ravesteijn of Utrecht took inspiration from Nicolay’s drawings, creating tiles made in a special Delftware format for the English market. Foundries such as Coalbrookdale in Ironbridge and Thomas Elsley in London were known for setting these designs into their iron fire grates.

Delft Tiles

Delft dates back as far as the early 1500s. The Dutch city of Delft, after which the pottery is named, was the major centre of its production. Tiles and pottery made from Delft are applied with a tin and magnesium glaze that gives them their distinctive purple-blue colour.

Their well-known blue and white tiles appeared around 1620 and became world famous, the tiles often painted with scenes from daily life and used to decorate kitchens, chimneypieces, staircases and more.