Art & Artifacts Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Tile |
Collection |
Artifact collection |
Object ID |
M1984.277.2 |
Year Range from |
1652 |
Year Range to |
1696 |
Dimension Details |
0 3/8" H x 5 1/4" W x 5 3/8" D |
Description |
Blue and white square tile depicting a woman carrying a jug in a field or marshy area inscribed in a double circle with vegetal patterns in the four corners; handwritten in pencil on reverse: 'Old Stryker House / Flatbush / 1696'; tile chipped along one side. |
Place Names |
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) Flatbush (New York, N.Y.) |
Subject Headings |
Artifacts Ceramics Tiles |
Curatorial Notes |
This hand painted, tin-glazed earthenware tile tells the history of Brooklyn across many centuries. First popularized in Holland in the 1500s, the Dutch used these colorful tiles to decorate the walls and fireplaces of their public and private buildings. When settlers from the colony of New Amsterdam began settling in Brooklyn in the 1630s, they built homes in traditional Dutch architectural styles and brought this "tile craze" with them. Sets of tiles frequently matched and complemented each other, like this set of three featuring pastoral scenes. By the Civil War, Brooklyn’s transformation from a small agricultural outpost to one of the nation’s great urban and industrial centers led to either the renovation or demolition of numerous old homesteads. According to early BHS records, this tile once decorated the Stryker House, built in 1696 at Church Avenue and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. In 1864, these tiles were exhibited at the Brooklyn and Long Island Sanitary Fair. The Long Island Historical Society (now BHS), organized in 1863, encouraged its members to purchase relics of "historical interest" like this tile from the fair and donate them to the Society. |