Hello Catalog How to Order Tile Articles Site Map Search Contact
Bestiary Dragons, Unicorns, Pets Medieval Books, Herbals, Codices and Crowns
What do hares and harebells mean? They are both tied the moon. Both hares and harebells have their roots in a rich symbolism in mythology and folklore. These tiles bring together the rich mythology of hares and the Victorian fascination with botanicals and floriography (the language of flowers), a means of communication through the way flowers are used and by decrypting their meaning. Coded messages were sent with flowers, expressing feelings that could not be spoken in Victorian society. Hare tiles are based on hares by Albrecht Durer and and Hans Hoffman (who based his hare on Durer's hare) and a late nineteenth century French print.
Bestiary Dragons More than 60 bestiary dragons spanning more than 3000 years and six continents.
Medieval Cats - Medieval cats on four- and six-inch tumbled marble. From left: 13th century bestiary cats with bird cage, Medieval cat and monk walking and praying, Cat defending fortress from a siege of mice. See all the cats and their descriptions.
Medieval Dogs -
Medieval dogs on four- and six-inch tumbled marble. From left: Dog playing a cat bagpipe from The Funeral of Renard the Fox c.1300, dog in a suit of armor early renaissance, sad green hunting hound.
See all the dogs and their descriptions.
Carta Marina Sea Monster Map. The Carta Marina Sea Monster map of Scandinavia is available in widths of 24 and 48 inches. In addition, there are 29 accent tiles, that focus on particular monsters or scenes, such as the Kraken, a tree that grows ducks, the maelstrom, and philsters. Meet the monsters and learn about the map.
Monoceros is Greek for unicorn, but the Monoceros constellation was unknown to the ancient Greeks. There are no unicorns in Greek mythology, but they do appear in texts of natural history as being native creatures to India. The Monoceros constellation was identified in the 1612 by Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius. This mural is based on the map in Atlas Coelestis of John Flamsteed.
Unicorns appear in the predecessor of the medieval bestiary, the Physiologus, a second century Christian text written in Greek.
Lady and the Unicorn, Hunt for the Unicorn tiles: Hunt for the Unicorn and Lady and the Unicorn tile sets.
Top row: Lady and the unicorn, hearing, touch, sight, smell, only desire.
Bottom row: Hunt for the Unicorn,
captive unicorn, unicorn at the fountain, start of the hunt, unicorn defends itself, tapestry background.
Unicorn tapestry tiles
Copyright information: Images of tile products on this website are ©William Morris Tile, LLC. They are derivative works requiring considerable creative effort. You are welcome to use the images, with attribution, for any non non-commercial purpose, including displaying them on your blog or personal website. You may not use them for any commercial purpose without written permission, including but not limited to creating counted cross-stitch patterns, calendars, or any other commercial purpose. Contact me for images.