Rare Antique Victorian Maw & Co. Queen Victoria Royal Arms Encaustic Tiles—Set of Four

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A rare four-part Victorian English encaustic tile panel by Maw & Co., bringing together Queen Victoria’s Royal Arms, intricate Gothic … Read more A rare four-part Victorian English encaustic tile panel by Maw & Co., bringing together Queen Victoria’s Royal Arms, intricate Gothic ornament, and the enduring craftsmanship of nineteenth-century architectural ceramics.

The four substantial tiles join to reveal one continuous heraldic composition in warm terracotta red and contrasting buff-colored clay. The detail rewards close inspection: expressive lions, the strings of an Irish harp, narrow double borders, elaborate Gothic lettering, and a crown adorned with crosses, fleurs-de-lis, and jewel-like motifs. Scrolling foliage frames the outer corners, completing the panel’s medieval-inspired design.

Each central element tells a story. The flanking “V R” initials signify Victoria Regina—Latin for Queen Victoria. Within the quartered shield, the three lions of England appear in the first and fourth quarters, Scotland’s upright lion within an ornamental double border occupies the second, and Ireland’s harp fills the third. The crown above signifies royal sovereignty.

Encircling the shield is the buckled Garter, bearing the Anglo-Norman French motto Honi soit qui mal y pense: “Shame on anyone who thinks evil of it.” Founded by Edward III in 1348, the Order of the Garter is Britain’s oldest and most senior order of chivalry, connecting the imagery to centuries of royal ceremony and honor.

The decoration is formed through encaustic clay inlay, with contrasting colored clays creating the pattern within the ceramic surface. This technique gives the panel its distinctive material character and reflects the Victorian revival of historic tilemaking for richly decorated churches, entrance halls, and domestic interiors.

Founded in Worcester in 1850 by brothers George and Arthur Maw, Maw & Co. relocated to Shropshire in 1852 and became one of Victorian England’s foremost architectural tile manufacturers. Its elaborate ceramics supplied distinguished residences, cathedrals, and public buildings, with customers including the Royal Family. Impressed Maw & Co. Benthall/Broseley marks remain visible on the reverse sides of this set.

The firm’s place in Victorian design is reflected in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, which holds a Maw & Co. pattern book dated after 1871, with designs credited to architects John Pollard Seddon and George Edmund Street. A separate Maw & Company encaustic tile panel, dated circa 1870, was featured on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, where specialist Nick Dawes praised its craftsmanship.

For collectors of British ceramics, royal memorabilia, and architectural antiques, this set combines an identifiable maker, a specific Victorian royal subject, and all four components of the intended design. For designers, its earthy palette and heraldic imagery bring warmth, graphic presence, and a historical narrative to an English country library, paneled study, or Ralph Lauren–inspired interior.

Displayed together or professionally framed, the panel would make a compelling architectural focal point alongside dark wood, leather, antique books, and brass.

Acquired through an estate, where the set was catalogued as antique 19th-century Maw & Co. English encaustic heraldic terracotta tiles depicting the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom.

Sold as four individual tiles forming one continuous design. Unframed.

Dimensions
Each tile: approximately 6″ square × 1″ thick.

Product Details
Maker: Maw & Co.
Period: 19th century
Origin: England
Materials: Earthenware / terracotta
Technique: Encaustic clay inlay
Colors: Terracotta red and buff See less