TECHNIQUES

In Holland, designs were not always painted from scratch. Sometimes the image was transferred onto the tile using a tracing paper template pierced with holes and dusted with charcoal to reproduce the outline. Children were often employed to paint the traced design but, even so, a level of skill was required: the absorbent surface meant that mistakes could not be recti!ed and painting had to be speedy and accurate. In England, tiles were usually hand- decorated, but designs tend to be less sophisticated. After 1756, woodblock and transfer printing techniques were also used to reproduce designs.