Jan and John Maggs Antiques

18th century Dutch biblical tile with manganese glaze

Seventeenth and eighteenth century Dutch pottery was most often glazed with tin oxide, which produced the beautiful blues associated with early Delft. Many of the most attractive Dutch pieces of the 17th and 18th centuries were glazed not with tin oxide, but with manganese oxide, which produced instead a light purple color. this tile is one of the latter.

The subject may be based upon the Parable of the Tares, described on Wikipedia as follows:

The Parable of the Tares, (also known as the Parable of the Weeds, Parable of the Wheat and Tares, Parable of the Wheat and Weeds, or the Parable of the Weeds in the Grain), is one of the parables of Jesus, which appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament. According to the Matthew 13:24-30 during the final judgment, the angels will separate the "sons of the evil one" (the "tares" or weeds) from the "sons of the kingdom" (the wheat). It follows the Parable of the Sower, and precedes the Parable of the Mustard Seed.

It measures approximately five inches square and one quarter inch thick. The corners are decorated with ox heads, a particularly engaging motif.

Price: $65

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Inventory #18404

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