This black gold lustre tile from De Ferranti’s personal archive is an original ceramic work by Margery Clinton, with a dark mineral-rich surface and fine black-gold scintillation. Its metallic character was developed through an additional firing in a reduced-oxygen atmosphere, drawing reflective depth from within the glaze rather than applying a separate metal finish.

Black gold lustre tile surface and firing

The near-black and indigo ground is densely worked with copper, bronze and gold-like flashes. Small pits, pooled areas and irregular transitions between deep shadow and sudden reflection give the face the character of ore, night water or weathered metal, while the handmade edge keeps the piece visibly ceramic.

Reduction lustre is especially sensitive to glaze chemistry, kiln atmosphere and timing. Clinton’s surviving research archive records repeated glaze tests and firing programmes, and this tile demonstrates how that disciplined experimentation could produce a surface that changes with the viewer’s position. The effect is quiet from one angle and strongly activated from another.

For related works from the same firing-led group, compare the warmer Ember Copper tile and the restrained Nocturne Bronze tile. Elsewhere in the De Ferranti collection, the Ruby Lustre Animal Tiles place metallic lustre within the Arts and Crafts tradition, while the E-Series Obsidian Metal Glaze Brick offers a repeatable dark metallic wall surface.

Displaying a dark iridescent ceramic tile

This black gold lustre tile is best assessed vertically and under the intended project lighting. A narrow, oblique beam can reveal the granular gold and copper notes more effectively than flat frontal illumination. Consider it as a singular object in a framed panel, deep niche, cabinet interior or protected wall detail. Any proposed bathroom, kitchen or fireplace location should be reviewed for fixing, heat, moisture and cleaning requirements before specification.

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