This is a beautiful pair of antique 6" x 6" gloss glazed portrait tile featuring a renaissance gentleman with a ruffled, pleated collar called a "ruff". These collars were popular in the 16th and 17th centuries so this gentleman and his lovely lady probably hail from that era although we've had no luck identifying them. These tiles are unmarked but may be early tile from the American Encaustic Tile Company of Zanesville, Ohio, as they made a very similar pattern later on. One of the tile has a missing corner as shown in the images. These are glazed in a very light gray and ivory mottled glaze, with some fleabites to the edges and crackling to the glaze.

The American Encaustic Tile Company, also called AETCO or AE (1875-to at least 1945),was founded in Zanesville, Ohio in 1875. There was also a manufacturing plant in Los Angeles that was used to make some of their products. It was one of the most distinguished American makers of household adornments, as well as one of the largest tile producers of modern times. AETCO's wares found their way into countless American houses and public buildings. AETCO provided "artistic" tiles of a very high order of design and execution for innumerable front porches, vestibules, halls, and fireplaces while, at the same time, it helped to convince Americans of the merit of tiled bathrooms and kitchens. The firm closed in 1935 and was then reopened in 1937 as the Shawnee Pottery.