"German Fireplace Brick Tile With Wedding Coat Of Arms, Dated 1567"
HAUTE EPOQUETerrcotta tile or brick from a castle fireplace with a relief wedding coat of arms.
The alliance coat of arms belongs to OTTO BARON VAN BYLAND-RHEIDT (1531-1591) married to MARIA VAN DEN BONGART.
Germany, PAFFENDORF Castle near Bergheim (close to Cologne); the brick is dated 1567
(Another known example is dated 1611, see the last photo.)
These bricks were used to decorate fireplace, dating them at the same time as the buildings in which they were constructed. The potters worked with molds to stamp the raw clay before firing. As a result, the same patterns are frequently found.
Their considerable thickness also allowed them to retain heat from the hearth ideally and to withstand significant temperature variations.
https://www.archeologiegorinchem.com/enkele-vondsten/haardplaat/
Dimensions:
14 cm in length * 10 cm in height and * 8 cm in thickness
Condition:
Lacks and chips at the edges, often related to their dismantling but don't affect readability of the item.
(Another known copy in the last photo of the listing is also damaged on the edges, even more so than our listed copy here)
For biographical details on Otto Baron Van Byland-Rheidt
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Bylandt
For information on the probable provenance of the tile (Castle of Paffendorf in Germany)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Paffendorf
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