Exploring the Timeless Beauty of Portuguese Tiles: A Closer Look at Handcrafted Fish Scale Designs
Portugal is one of my favourite countries to visit. This is because of the scenery, the people, the food and of course, the amazing tiles and ceramics. I have visited Portugal a number of times over the years and each time I gain a little bit more insight into the wonderful culture. I would love to be able to master the language so that I can order my own pastels de nana or Portuguese tarts as they are known elsewhere. They are simply to die for.
Everywhere you go in Portugal there are beautiful tiles and tile murals on the sides of buildings, on pavements and even in train stations. Porto train station is a great example of this. Lisbon has its own Tile Museum which is quite extraordinary. My main supplier has a wide variety of tiles which I would love to offer in its entirety to my customers in Australia but I have the difficult problem of deciding which tiles to choose to import to Australia. I simply cannot import all of them! I have settled on two very traditional and beautiful handmade and handpainted tiles to stock as well as some amazing handmade fish scales. These designs have been very popular over the years and I also have some samples of other designs which my customers can choose if they are happy to wait the lead time for these to be made and shipped to Australia.
I would like to talk about my Portuguese fish scale tiles today. They are handmade and each one is a work of art. When I look at them, I am reminded of the mermaids that mythically inhabit the oceans of the world. The colours are wondrous blues and deep aquas which meld into each other. No tile is exactly the same because they are made by artists for people who appreciate original pieces in their homes and environs.
We stock 4 different colours of fish scales and many customers order some of each colour to evoke the changing colours of the ocean while others prefer a single palette. These tiles can be used inside and outside as well as in dry areas and wet areas. They are popularly used for kitchens and bathrooms, for feature walls, for water features, pools and more. There is one thing that people agree upon - they create a statement.
Click onto "Fish Scales” on our website for more information.