{"id":408304,"date":"2023-06-09T12:12:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T16:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/?p=408304"},"modified":"2023-06-09T12:12:06","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T16:12:06","slug":"portuguese-tiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/portuguese-tiles\/","title":{"rendered":"A Giant Wedding Cake Has Us Looking at Portuguese Tiles in a New Light"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Joana
Joana Vasconcelos<\/a>\u2019s 40-foot Wedding Cake pavilion at Waddesdon Manor, in Buckinghamshire, England. The artist looked to the azulejos (tiles) of her native Portugal when conceiving the interactive ceramic sculpture. Photo by Chris Lace \u00a9 A Rothschild House and Garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Romance is in the air at Waddesdon Manor<\/a>, in Buckinghamshire, England. And quite literally so. On the sprawling grounds of this majestic French Renaissance<\/a>\u2013style ch\u00e2teau \u2014 known for its extensive art collection, amassed by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild<\/a>, who built the house in the 19th century \u2014 celebrated Portuguese contemporary artist Joana Vasconcelos<\/a> has created a soaring 40-foot-tall <\/a>sculptural ceramic pavilion<\/a> in the form of a three-tiered wedding cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Described by Vasconcelos as \u201ca temple to love\u201d celebrating joy, unity and devotion, the sculpture, in place until the end of October, is fully immersive, allowing visitors to enter its curving platforms and interact with its glossy surface, crafted from more than 25,000 glazed tiles in delicate shades of pink, blue, yellow and green.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Inside
An interior view of the pavilion. Photo by Chris Lace \u00a9 A Rothschild House and Garden<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI am inviting people to finish this artwork with me,\u201d explains the artist, who has incorporated a crown of gold \u201cicing\u201d peaks on her faience fantasy, as well as the sound of trickling water and special lighting effects. \u201cAs people climb all the way around, they become the two figures on the top of the cake.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vasconcelos\u2019s fairy-tale structure, built in the tradition of a Victorian folly, is also an expression of place and provenance. The artist articulates her cultural memory through the language of materiality, drawing on the tradition of Portuguese azulejo<\/a> (tile work), which can be traced back to the 13th century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrowing up in Portugal, I have always been surrounded by tiles<\/a> and ceramics<\/a>. They are all over the place, and they are an integral part of our culture,\u201d explains the artist, who recently created a giant textile installation for Dior<\/a>\u2019s Autumn\/Winter 2023 show in Paris. Indeed, Vasconcelos\u2019s work, whether fired in ceramic<\/a> or crocheted in lace<\/a>, is always flamboyant and colorful, with a touch of the baroque<\/a>, evoking a joie de vivre that is transportive and deeply rooted in the artisanal history of her native country.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A
A detail of the Wedding Cake shows the discontinued fish fountains that Vasconcelos resurrected for the project while collaborating with the Vi\u00fava Lamego factory in Lisbon. Photo by Chris Lace \u00a9 A Rothschild House and Garden<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In the case of the Wedding Cake at Waddesdon, the tiles harness the allegorical significance of azulejos, which have been used for centuries to decorate everything from churches and monasteries to train stations and residential houses with scenes depicting historic, religious, agricultural or mythological narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor years now, I\u2019ve been working with the Vi\u00fava Lamego factory [founded in 1849, in Lisbon], which produces the most beautiful handmade tiles,\u201d says the artist. \u201cFor the Wedding Cake, I also decided to use ceramic figures that they had stopped producing, such as a mermaid panel and some fishes traditionally used to help drain the water from the rain, and representations of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of marriages in Portugal. Our relationship with tiles and ceramics is very emotional, so they were the perfect medium for installation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Rustic<\/a>
Comprising 108 azulejos, this rustic 18th-century scene<\/a> \u2014 featuring a shepherd, troubadour and maid with two children \u2014 is offered by Florin Antiques<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In places like Porto and Lisbon, you can immediately sense this compelling heritage, thanks to an abundance of lavishly ornamented facades and interiors. Streets are colored with blue-and-white azulejo tiles inspired by the Delftware<\/a> used by Flemish artisans who settled there in the 16th century. Tiles with elaborate geometric patterns have a much longer history, connected to the Islamic motifs of the Moors<\/a> who ruled Portugal for more than 500 years starting in the early 8th century. In fact, the word azulejo<\/em> is derived from az-zulayj<\/em>, meaning “polished stone” in Arabic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given their functional purpose and susceptibility to damage, well-preserved antique azulejo panels are extremely rare and are considered highly collectible pieces of art, often used as centerpieces in modern houses. \u201cAs a Portuguese citizen, I know what it is like to have these pieces at home and admire their beauty and splendor,\u201d says Jose Afonso Amoros Campos Ferreira, partner in Florin Antiques<\/a>, in Madrid, which specializes in European antiques and artworks from the 17th to the mid-20th centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"aroque<\/a>
Baroque azulejo panel depicting angels and hunting dogs<\/a>, 18th century, also offered by Florin Antiques<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In the boutique\u2019s inventory are a variety of perfectly restored 18th-century blue-and-white panels<\/a>, including a 30-tile mosaic depicting a pair of plump cherubs with hunting dogs<\/a> framed by an opulent burst of Rococo<\/a> swirls. Another piece, comprising 108 tiles, portrays a rustic scene populated by figures<\/a> like a shepherd, a troubadour and a maid with two children. The focal point of the composition is an arched pavilion in the foreground, which, like Vasconcelos\u2019s Wedding Cake at Waddesdon Manor, brings architectural extravagance to a pastoral idyll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBuying a panel of vintage Portuguese tiles is like buying a part of Portuguese history,\u201d says Ferreira, whose clients include major collectors in Brazil and the United States. Such works are in high demand, he notes, because of their unique position as investment pieces, straddling the divide between home decor and fine art objects and thus combining functionality and beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bunny<\/a>
Interior designer Bunny Williams<\/a> covered a fireplace surround in azulejos in the kitchen and dining area of a farmhouse in Cannes, France<\/a>. Photo by Fritz von der Schulenberg <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tiles can also create a sense of depth<\/a> in a room, altering perspectives and inviting the gaze toward new visual gateways. In a light-filled hallway of a palatial home in Atlanta, for example, designer Brian J. McCarthy<\/a> introduced an exotic paradise in the form of a large blue-and-white azulejo tableau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interior maven Bunny Williams<\/a>, meanwhile, heightened the romance of a fireplace with a tile surround that sets a homely farmhouse scene. In the salon of Juan Pablo Molyneux<\/a>\u2019s regal 17th-century Parisian home, azulejos depicting stately gardens and aristocratic residences convey a sense of grandeur and historical pomp, like a floor-to-ceiling storyboard evoking a utopian past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
Left: In a French-inspired Atlanta house<\/a>, Brian J. McCarthy<\/a> introduced an exotic paradise in the form of an azulejo tableau (photo by Fritz von der Schulenberg). Right: Juan Pablo Molyneux<\/a> covered the formal vestibule of his 1619 Parisian h\u00f4tel particulier home in a floor-to-ceiling azulejo panorama (photo by Xavier B\u00e9jot, courtesy of Assouline).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel that the azulejos are loved not only because they are blue and white, which seem to be universally adored colors, but also because of their ability to change the architecture of the structure\u2019s surface they are applied to,” says renowned Rome-born, Chicago-based interior designer Alessandra Branca<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aware of the scarcity and high value of vintage panels, Branca has created hand-painted wallcoverings that mimic their designs for a de Gournay<\/a> collection aptly named Porto. The “tiles” of the trompe l’oeil<\/a> papers appear glazed and are separated by matte-painted \u201cgrout\u201d lines, producing a 3D effect on wall surfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alessandra
In a bedroom she designed<\/a> for the Kips Bay Palm Beach showhouse, Alessandra Branca<\/a> revealed the azulejo-inspired Porto wallcoverings she created for de Gournay<\/a>. Photo by Carmel Brantley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have been visiting Porto since I was a young girl, and I am still so enamored by these tiles,\u201d she says. \u201cMy favorites, however, are those that feature the suggested architecture of painterly balustrades and overdoors. These wonderful elements can do to an interior what tiles can achieve on the outside. In this way, the plainest box is totally transformed. The azulejos can make spaces sing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is true of both modern and historic examples, whether the tiles are used to conjure a storybook past or a confection celebrating the union of a married couple.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Romance is in the air at Waddesdon Manor, in Buckinghamshire, England. And quite literally so. On the sprawling grounds of this majestic French Renaissance\u2013style ch\u00e2teau \u2014 known for its extensive art collection, amassed by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, who built the house in the 19th century \u2014 celebrated Portuguese contemporary artist Joana Vasconcelos has created […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":394,"featured_media":409189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-06-09T14:44:28Z","apple_news_api_id":"d47f4cf4-b713-47d5-bd64-9c4e2c1085bd","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-06-09T14:44:28Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A1H9M9LcTR9W9ZJxOLBCFvQ","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[7268713,2062,7,11978293,15570405,4573,9881573,6523,9392863,15568699,301243,15570407,15570403,15570406,9394853,309773,15570404,11978283,5313603,9392893,15526523,15570401],"dibs-categories":[15565858,15565679,15565659,15565565,15565877],"dibs-designs":[],"dibs-styles":[],"dibs-creators":[15570413],"dibs-sellers":[15570414,15570408],"class_list":["post-408304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design-2","tag-1stdibs-dealer","tag-alessandra-branca","tag-art","tag-artist","tag-azulejos","tag-brian-j-mccarthy","tag-buckinghamshire","tag-bunny-williams","tag-chateau","tag-contemporary-artist","tag-england","tag-florin-antiques","tag-joana-vasconcelos","tag-jose-afonso-amoros-campos-ferreira","tag-juan-pablo-molyneux","tag-portugal","tag-portuguese","tag-sculptor","tag-sculpture","tag-waddesdon-manor","tag-wedding","tag-wedding-cake","dibs-categories-dibs-a","dibs-categories-dibs-f_fol_cer","dibs-categories-dibs-f_fol","dibs-categories-dibs-f","dibs-categories-dibs-a_scu","dibs-creators-dibs-joana-vasconcelos","dibs-sellers-dibs-casa-branca","dibs-sellers-dibs-florin-antiques"],"acf":{"post_format":"article","subtitle":"At Waddesdon Manor, artist Joana Vasconcelos has installed a three-tiered patisserie inspired by the narrative tile work of her homeland. We take a look at the cake sculpture and how Portuguese tiles have been used in architecture from the 17th century to today.","contributors":{"hide_byline":false,"columnist":[{"ID":361856,"post_author":"456","post_date":"2021-12-14 22:36:15","post_date_gmt":"2021-12-15 03:36:15","post_content":"\n

Alexandra Zagalsky is a London-based journalist specializing in luxury topics, art and travel content. She began her journalistic career in Paris, where she worked on a cultural guide for English-speaking expats. Her first big break was an interview with Lionel Poil\u00e2ne, the late, venerable baker from Paris\u2019s Saint-Germain-des-Pr\u00e9s district who popularized the two-kilogram sourdough loaf and once made a bread chandelier for Salvador Dal\u00ed<\/a>.

Zagalsky moved back to London in her early 20s and has since worked with a number of august publications, including the Week<\/em>, the Telegraph<\/em>, the Times<\/em> and a variety of art and design outlets, such as Introspective<\/em><\/a> and V&A<\/em>, Sotheby\u2019s<\/em> and Christie\u2019s<\/em> magazines. She studied fine art and the history of art at Goldsmiths, University of London, and continues to explore the contemporary art scene, including the world of NFTs.

She has written extensively on the subject of vintage watches<\/a> and describes the Cartier<\/a> Crash as her favorite timepiece. \u201cIt\u2019s a great emblem of the Swinging Sixties and an adaptation of the house\u2019s classic Baignoire<\/a> Allong\u00e9e wristwatch, its sinuous Daliesque style apparently inspired by a model brought into the London Cartier workshop that had been distorted in a car crash,\u201d she says. \u201cI love it for all sorts of reasons, not least because it\u2019s so unconventional and daring, as all great design objects often are.\u201d

Find out more about Zagalsky\u2019s work on Linkedin<\/a>.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Alexandra Zagalsky","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"alexandra-zagalsky","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-11-27 03:14:00","post_modified_gmt":"2025-11-27 08:14:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/contributors\/alexandra-zagalsky\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"contributors","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"photographer":"","custom_byline":false},"show_date":true,"interstitial_banners":[{"acf_fc_layout":"related","interstitial_banner_shortcode":"portuguese-tiles-merch","interstitial_banner_title":"Get the Look","interstitial_banner_products":[{"related_product_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/buy\/portuguese-tiles\/","related_product_title":"Portuguese Tiles","related_product_image_url":"","related_product_image":409093,"related_product_image_customize":true},{"related_product_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/dealers\/florin-antiques\/shop\/","related_product_title":"Florin Antiques","related_product_image_url":"","related_product_image":409096,"related_product_image_customize":true},{"related_product_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/creators\/joana-vasconcelos\/art\/","related_product_title":"Joana Vasconcelos Art","related_product_image_url":"","related_product_image":409099,"related_product_image_customize":true},{"related_product_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/dealers\/casa-branca\/shop\/","related_product_title":"Casa Branca","related_product_image_url":"https:\/\/a.1stdibscdn.com\/a-set-of-four-lacquered-wrought-iron-and-gilt-metal-chairs-for-sale\/f_8614\/f_319913621672412863759\/f_31991362_1672412863966_bg_processed.jpg?width=180&auto=webp","related_product_image":false,"related_product_image_customize":false},{"related_product_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/buy\/portuguese-azulejos-tiles\/","related_product_title":"Azulejos","related_product_image_url":"","related_product_image":409102,"related_product_image_customize":true}]}],"slideshows":false,"show_related_items_footer_popup":true,"related_items":[{"related_product_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/buy\/portuguese-tiles\/","related_product_title":"Portuguese Tiles","related_product_image_url":"","related_product_image":409093,"related_product_image_customize":true},{"related_product_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/dealers\/florin-antiques\/shop\/","related_product_title":"Florin Antiques","related_product_image_url":"","related_product_image":409096,"related_product_image_customize":true},{"related_product_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/creators\/joana-vasconcelos\/art\/","related_product_title":"Joana Vasconcelos Art","related_product_image_url":"","related_product_image":409099,"related_product_image_customize":true},{"related_product_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/dealers\/casa-branca\/shop\/","related_product_title":"Casa Branca Furniture","related_product_image_url":"https:\/\/a.1stdibscdn.com\/a-set-of-four-lacquered-wrought-iron-and-gilt-metal-chairs-for-sale\/f_8614\/f_319913621672412863759\/f_31991362_1672412863966_bg_processed.jpg?width=180&auto=webp","related_product_image":false,"related_product_image_customize":false}]},"dibs_designs_tags":null,"dibs_sellers_tags":["dibs-casa-branca","dibs-florin-antiques"],"dibs_creators_tags":["dibs-joana-vasconcelos"],"dibs_styles_tags":null,"dibs_categories_tags":["dibs-a","dibs-f_fol_cer","dibs-f_fol","dibs-f","dibs-a_scu"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedding-Cake-Exterior-A-Rothschild-House-and-Garden.-Photo-by-Chris-Lacey-640x450.jpg","post_title":"A Giant Wedding Cake Has Us Looking at Portuguese Tiles in a New Light","fimg_url":{"thumbnail":{"source_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedding-Cake-Exterior-A-Rothschild-House-and-Garden.-Photo-by-Chris-Lacey-120x80.jpg","width":120,"height":80},"medium":{"source_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedding-Cake-Exterior-A-Rothschild-House-and-Garden.-Photo-by-Chris-Lacey-525x350.jpg","width":525,"height":350},"full":{"source_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedding-Cake-Exterior-A-Rothschild-House-and-Garden.-Photo-by-Chris-Lacey.jpg","width":2000,"height":1333}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedding-Cake-Exterior-A-Rothschild-House-and-Garden.-Photo-by-Chris-Lacey.jpg","apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Giant Wedding Cake Has Us Looking at Portuguese Tiles in a New Light | The Study<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At Waddesdon Manor, artist Joana Vasconcelos has installed a three-tiered patisserie inspired by the narrative tile work of her homeland. 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