Tunisian Tiles, Jacob Chemla Pottery, Ca. 1900

120 antique tiles by Jacob Chemla (1857-1938).   Dimensions approximately 11.5 to 12 cm square.  Tunesian old tiles of the famous Jacob Chemla Pottery Tunis.  The Chemla Tunesian tiles were produced and  used all over the world, from the 1870s through 1977.  Jacob Chemla was a scholar and artist. He was an advocate with the Rabbinical Court of Tunis.  He was a writer and playwright, he translated The Count of Monte Christo and works on others, into Judeo-Arabic.  After 1881, when the French establisshed their protectorate in Tunesia, Jacob became friends with the architects who were designing and restoring some of the historic buildings and who wanted to clad the buildings with 'authentic' Arab tiles, like those on the Bardo Palace and the Mosque of Kairouan.  Jacob Chemla organized a pottery in Tunis with the intent of rediscovering the archaic method of making 'Arab'-tiles.  He experimented with glazes and firing and in time, he found what he had wanted: Beautiful iridescent tiles that were very close to the old enemals, because, as with the old, Jacob had used local products like sand Mégrine for silica, copper, tin and lead were oxidized and crushed on site.  With the help of his son Victor, the chemist, Jacob developed tiles in the authentic, old style.  There are Chemla-tiles collectors all over the world, esp. in the USA.  These tiles are hard to find but Antique Fireplaces First has a 120 tiles in stock, found in Belgium.  These tiles were sawn from an old floor and are missing a few millimeters here and there.  Overall in good condition.  Worldwide shipping.  Delivery in Europe can be done by us: 'In House Delivery'.