Name/Title
Tile: House Blessing T-20Description
A four-color silkscreen underglaze print on a white tile blank depicting a saltbox house under construction, with a house blessing printed below. The saltbox house is shown partially in section, revealing activity within: a woman carries an armload of logs for the fire, a man stands on a stool with one hand reaching toward a stack of bricks, another man sits on the roof while mortaring bricks on the chimney stack. Atop the front dormer is a small pine tree, a reference to the Northern European tradition of “topping-off”: the roof is completed first so the interior remains dry while finishing the house. When the roof is finished, a topping-off ceremony takes place, blessing the house and the success of the project.
The blessing reads, “Bless this house, each brick and rafter, may it be filled with peace & laughter”.
This tile appears in the c.1955 brochure “Robert Darr Wert/Country Print Tiles”, and the c.1960 brochure “Robert Darr Wert/Country Prints Tiles”; see images.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Robert Darr WertRole
ArtistManufacturer
Country Prints, Ceramo Studio, New YorkDate made
circa 1954Time Period
20th CenturyPlace
* Untyped Place
New York CityNotes
Design, screen production, and mixing of colored underglazes performed at the Country Prints workshop, Gill, MA. Screen printing of underglaze colors, clear glaze, firing and finishing by Ceramo Studio, NYC.
This example is printed on the thicker tile body used by Country Prints/Ceramo Studio prior to 1962.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Front: “wert”, lower right corner.
Back: Country Print Tiles label hanger.Dimensions
Height
3/8 inWidth
6 inDepth
6 inMaterial
White Tile Blank, Colored Underglaze, Clear Overglaze, Oaktag Label Hanger, CorkColor
Brick Red, Yellow Ochre, Teal, Black
