A four-panel peacock tile, made in 1910 by Frederick Hurten Rhead as a personal gift for a friend and colleague, achieved $510,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2012. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers

Handmade decorative tiles are like snowflakes: no two are exactly alike. But unlike snowflakes, tiles are able to survive for centuries and delight generations of appreciative owners.

Saied Hussain, the only producer of handmade decorative cement tiles left in Egypt, testified to the powerful sensation that comes with their creation. “When you do it, you feel like you’re an artist,” Hussain said in a recent interview with Business Insider. 

A circa-1920 handmade glazed earthenware landscape tile frieze by the Mueller Mosaic Co. earned $8,500 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2022. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers

As a building material, cement – which comes from the Roman word caementicium – can be traced back to ancient Greece, Macedonia and Rome. These regions’ inhabitants relied on a cement recipe of crushed volcanic ash and lime, which delivered the makings of long-lasting roads, aqueducts and the open dome of the Pantheon. By the 18th century, however, cement had evolved into two separate types: non-hydraulic and hydraulic with their setting processes dictating their uses.

This unglazed handmade ceramic tile depicts Elbert Hubbard, the founder of the Roycroft Arts and Craft community, rendered in bas relief by Roycroft sculptor Jerome Connor. It sold for $450 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2020. Image courtesy of California Historical Design and LiveAuctioneers

Non-hydraulic cement needs carbon dioxide in the air to cure, which limits its applications because it takes weeks to set. It is primarily used for indoor stone or brick work. Hydraulic cement, which is also known as Portland cement, cures within days, thanks to a chemical reaction between lime, silicates and aggregates. Its faster curing time makes it suitable for handmade tiles, but such tiles require an additional step: they must be fired at high heat to render them as encaustic tiles and ensure their hardiness.

This Danish teak coffee table from HASLEV, with handmade tiles embedded in its table top, reached a top bid of $1,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2021. Image courtesy of Uniques and Antiques, Inc and LiveAuctioneers

The process by which Hussain creates his encaustic tiles has not changed since cement became a favored building material in the 19th century, when factories that produced handmade tiles were much more prevalent. But encaustic tiles, whose name is derived from the Greek infinitive meaning “to burn,” date back to the 5th century and they were made in much the same way.

The first step involves sifting white cement powder to remove any heavier material. Dry background pigments are gently mixed with the sifted cement and water, then stirred to a well-blended consistency. After that, one color at a time is painstakingly poured into each section of an elaborate metal pattern set within a sturdy mold. Artisans shake the mold to make sure all of the pigments are set completely before they lift the metal pattern to reveal the final, colorful design. Finally, the whole is covered with a mixture of sand, cement and limestone to keep the pigment in place and then tightly tamped down by a press (Hussain uses a hydraulic one) to form a hard-packed tile ready for firing. Finished cement tiles are typically destined to become floor pavers for indoor and outdoor spaces.

A handmade encaustic tile featuring a yellow lion outlined in black against a dark blue field, made by the American Encaustic Tile Company, sold for $30 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2021. Image courtesy of Vintage Accents Auction and LiveAuctioneers

The American Encaustic Tile Company (AETCO), which thrived in Zanesville, Ohio from 1892 to 1935, was the major producer of handmade encaustic tile during the Arts and Crafts Movement, and its products sometimes appear at auction. Encaustic cement tiles are generally not as bright as other handmade tiles because the pigments shine through on their own, rendering glazes superfluous. But other types of handmade tiles cannot be completed without glazing.

Portuguese artist A. Paula hand-crafted and hand-painted a 12-tile ceramic mural of a Portuguese ship named ‘Navio Sec. XVII.’ It sold as a framed piece for $500 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2021. Image courtesy of Estates Consignment and LiveAuctioneers

Handmade ceramic tiles are almost always glazed. Instead of sifted cement, their base ingredient is organic clay, which is molded and cut into shape – a less time-consuming process than that of cement tiles. Ceramics must be fired at very high temperatures but, as noted above, they also require a glaze, which can include ash, lead, salt or even tin. This extra step yields a hard, brick-like surface with an impermeable layer that protects the tile from moisture and decay. And of course, glazes can add a welcome splash of color. Ceramic tiles are more delicate than porcelain, but have a wider range of indoor uses than their cement cousins. 

These French handmade decorative porcelain tiles with white bas-relief motifs of a man with a bull and a woman with a cow realized $360 (as one lot) plus the buyer’s premium in August 2021. Image courtesy of Akiba Antiques and LiveAuctioneers

Porcelain tiles are made from organic clay, as well. Their decorations come from colored glazes that penetrate deeply into the clay. When the feldspar within the clay melts in the heat of the kiln, it renders a tile that is harder and more impermeable than a ceramic tile, but not as hard as an encaustic one. And because the glaze runs deeper, a scratch or a missing piece isn’t as noticeable as in ceramic tiles, which gain their glazes as thin, applied layers.

A vintage handmade pottery tile depicting a galloping knight on a horse with an oversize bird of prey, probably a hawk, made $150 plus the buyer’ premium in April 2016. Image courtesy of Great Expectations Auction Company and LiveAuctioneers

Yet another popular form of handmade tiles is fashioned from pottery clay and hand-painted to accent fireplaces, tables and countertops or serve as wall decorations. Pottery tiles are fired at high heat to maintain their glazes, and they resemble ceramic tiles in their hardness and permeability. 

Artist Andrew Hull used the sgraffito process to create this set of handmade tiles titled ‘Wrong Turn’ and ‘Pipefish and Friends.’ Together they earned $1,700 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2021. Image courtesy of Lion and Unicorn and LiveAuctioneers

Lastly, there is sgraffito, an ancient artistic tile made in a manner not unlike that of fresco painting. The finished clay is fired with layers of different color pigments, with the design etched or incised directly into the tile before firing to give it its unique design. Sgraffito (an Italian word meaning “to scratch,” which gave rise to the word “graffiti”) has been around since at least the 15th century and became prevalent during the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late-19th and early 20th centuries, most notably on building facades and as wall decorations. 

Taken together, the range of different types of handmade tiles allows the collector to amass a visually stunning collection that is one of a kind. Auctions feature vintage and contemporary artistic choices in an array of styles, and each is, in its own way, special because it is the work of a human hand, and not a machine.

“If you’re not an artist, you will not be able to do this job,” Hussain said. “Maybe, God willing, this craft will last for a hundred more years.” As long as masters continue to make tiles by hand, and as long as collectors embrace their masterpieces, Hussain’s craft should continue to thrive.

An 18th-century portrait of a King Charles Spaniel sold for $5,200 plus the buyer’s premium against an estimate of $200-$300 in April 2018. Image courtesy of David Killen Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

Each year the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show showcases the best of dog breeds and crowns one the Best in Show. It is an honor that is remembered for generations, particularly if a well-known artist paints a portrait of the winner.

An antique English canine portrait of a spaniel in a classic pointer pose sold for $2,900 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2021. Image courtesy of Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers and LiveAuctioneers.

Paintings of canines are not new. Wealthy owners have immortalized their favorite dogs for centuries, partly for their love for the animal and partly as a status symbol that both enhances and advertises their standing as a member of the upper classes. “The Middle Ages saw dogs being illustrated in hunting scenes, symbolizing their loyalty, bravery, and affinity between man and dog,” wrote Claire Rhodes in the 2014 article Portrayal of Dogs in Art and History for holiday4dogs.co.uk.

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer’s ‘Four Dogs in a Stable’ achieved $8,500 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2018. Image courtesy of Abell Auction and LiveAuctioneers.

Charles I of England had his namesake Cavalier King Charles Spaniels included in family portraits done by the superlative artist Anthony van Dyke, but it was Queen Victoria who presided over a Golden Age of canine paintings. Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901, commissioned royal portraits of her many dog companions, and her passion helped foster a market that allowed artists to specialize in the niche. Some artists preferred depicting purebred dogs standing, sitting or lounging on the laps of their owners, while others favored showing them in action – hunting, playing, chasing, and just, well, being a dog. Sir Edwin Landseer was arguably the most famous painter of animals, particularly horses and dogs, during the Victorian era.

‘Landscape Portrait,’ a 1994 Polaroid by William Wegman, realized $6,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2020. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

Contemporary artists who specialize in portraits of dogs succeed by capturing the animal’s individuality as well as its appearance. Many of these artists like sticking with sub-niches of the genre. William Wegman, for example, concentrates on Weimaraners, a large breed that royal families relied on to hunt big game such as boars, bears and deer, but he made his artistic reputation using his own pets as models, and not with commissioned canine portraiture. Jim Killen paints sporting dogs – animals bred to assist hunters – at work in vibrant watercolor. Other canine portraitists, such as Steven Townsend, Ron Burns and Paul Doyle, paint a variety of different breeds.

Ron Burns’ colorful 2008 dog portrait, ‘Roxie Caulfield,’ sold for $1,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2020. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

Would-be collectors of dog portraits enjoy a range of choices for how to enter the field and how to pursue their prizes. Chris Fox, Associate Deputy Director of Americana for William Doyle Galleries, summed them up succinctly following a 2020 Dogs in Art auction. “There are three categories: Sporting, pet, and mixed breed,” he said. “The breed portraits show how breed standards have changed. For instance, an 18th- or early 19th-century Pekinese has a snout that is different than today’s dog. Usually, people collect by breed and quality of the work. Most costly are pictures of sporting dogs such as retrievers, hounds and setters. Next would be Afghan hounds. On the down money scale would be lap dogs – spaniels, terriers, and pugs. Last would be working dogs such as German shepherds and border collies.”

According to dealers and collectors, personality is also essential to the success and appeal of a dog portrait. An oil painting by Percival Leonard Rosseau titled Scent’s Up sold for double its estimate at the auction for $31,250. Rousseau’s ability to capture the personalities of the dogs certainly helped drive the bidding.

‘Scent’s Up’ by Percival Leonard Rousseau achieved $9,000 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2008. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Company and LiveAuctioneers.

While dog portraits can sell well at auction, the emotional aspects of the artistic genre effectively frustrates and discourages those who are determined to see only dollar signs. Well-rendered images of man’s best friend – those that transcend mere accuracy and competence and communicate something deep and profound about the wonder, the joy, and, yes, the absurdity of owning a dog – are precisely the images that resonate with collectors. Exceptional dog portraits are born from love rather than money. They aren’t just fit to earn the title of Best in Show; they earn the title of best at home, too.

Robert Indiana ‘LOVE’ milled aluminum paperweight table sculpture, which sold for $576 in May 2021 at Uniques & Antiques.

Those who may not know the name Robert Indiana will still recognize his most famous and iconic creation: his LOVE print, with the word “love” in upper-case letters, arranged in a square with a tilted letter “O”. It first appeared in a series of poems originally written in 1958, but gained momentum when it was pictured on the Museum of Modern Art’s Christmas card in 1965. The print was also the basis for the artist’s LOVE sculpture in 1970 and the hugely popular US Postal Service stamp in 1973. Of the Christmas card, Indiana said, “It was the most profitable Christmas card the museum ever published.”

Robert Indiana was born Robert Clark in New Castle, Indiana, in 1928. He was adopted as an infant, but went to live with his father in Indianapolis after his parents divorced. He used the last name “Indiana” as a nod to his Hoosier upbringing, but most of his adult life was spent living in New York City and Maine. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland.

Indiana’s career took off in the early 1960s after Alfred J. Barr purchased his work The American Dream 1 for the Museum of Modern Art. He became famous for artworks that consisted of bold, simple, and iconic images, especially numbers and short words such as EAT, HUG, and, of course, LOVE. In 1977, he created a Hebrew version of LOVE using “Ahava,” the Hebrew word for love, and in 2008, a stainless-steel sculpture, HOPE, was unveiled outside the Democratic National Convention in Denver. He called HOPE “LOVE’s close relative.”

‘HOPE,’ a 2008 limited edition silkscreen on paper, which sold for $6,500 in February 2021 at Palm Beach Modern Auctions.

“Robert Indiana was a part of the group of artists that settled on Coenties Slip in lower Manhattan in the early 1950s with his then-lover, Ellsworth Kelly,” said Monica Brown, Senior Specialist of Prints and Multiples at Hindman in Chicago. “I think that his bold use of color is very much in keeping with this group of artists that included Kelly, Jack Youngerman, Cy Twombly, Agnes Martin, and others, but he took it one step further by tapping into very basic human psychology with his use of words and symbols – a very apt nod to Pop Art. Words and numbers as symbols can be literal, they can be subtle, they have meaning, and they have hidden meaning.”

Brown said she thinks this is what separated Robert Indiana from the rest of the pack. “When his peers were moving into color fields, action painting, and all of the forms of abstraction they could find,” she said, “Indiana turned to language, numbers, and symbols with the very precise and deliberate colors of, say, an Ellsworth Kelly, only employing the very Pop Art style of recognizable words and symbols. In doing this, such as with his LOVE sculptures, he is bringing the viewer’s own interpretation, thoughts, and feelings into the concept of the artwork.”

Robert Indiana, ‘Star of Hope,’ 1972 enameled and chrome plated brass. It sold for $6,150 in January 2020 at Copake Auction, Inc

Rico Baca, auctioneer and owner of Modern Auctions in West Palm Beach, Florida, said Robert Indiana’s appeal is in large part due to familiarity, and, as with many artists, being in the right place at the right time. “Signs are such a ubiquitous part of our culture,” Baca said, “and Indiana’s reinterpretations, with their familiar text styles, imagery, color palettes, and symmetry, are just very relatable. They immediately register with the viewer.”

Baca said that while Indiana’s work catered to the preferences of the period, the concept remains relevant and easily ‘refreshed’ with current topics, such as the aforementioned HOPE or the color variant Greenpeace Love, which was created in 1994. In February 2019, Modern Auctions (then Palm Beach Modern Auctions) sold an example of the Greenpeace Love image for $5,200 against an estimate of $2,500-$3,500.

Complete portfolio of Robert Indiana ‘Numbers’ prints from 1968, which sold for $41,925 in May 2021 at Hindman.

Regarding the market for the artist, who died in 2018, Monica Brown said she’s seen strong demand for Indiana’s works during the last five to ten years. “I think that as we move forward, there are serious questions to be resolved with his estate before collectors in certain categories can feel confident that his legacy, and thus his market, will be protected into the future,” she said. “I feel – and hope, as a true supporter of Robert Indiana’s work – that this will be rectified eventually.”

Brown is alluding to how the late artist was in the news recently, and not in a good way. After three years of battling in court, the estate of the artist and his former business partner reached an agreement that settled their legal disputes, but at a steep cost. Millions of dollars were spent on the case, money that would have otherwise gone toward realizing Indiana’s dream of turning his old home on the remote island of Vinahlhaven, Maine into a museum to memorialize his legacy.

Rico Baca said it’s interesting how closely auction records support the themes in Indiana’s work. “His popularity hasn’t dropped off, especially for the most familiar titles,” he said. “His larger LOVE canvases are still selling at a million or more, higher than his other imagery. The sense of nostalgia is something people like, newer collectors included.”

‘Purim: the Four Facets of Esther (I),’a 1967 print by Indiana, sold for $2,048 in March 2021 at Rachel Davis Fine Arts.

Baca added it doesn’t hurt that there are Indiana editions available across all price points. “An entry level collector may not be ready to purchase an original work or the entire Decade suite, for example,” he said, “but a single HOPE screenprint is a viable investment with current appeal.” Modern Auctions sold one at its February 2021 auction for $6,500 against an estimate of $2,000-$4,000. 

Seth Fallon, auctioneer and co-owner of Copake Auctions in Copake, New York, said the LOVE image is so iconic it will secure Indiana’s place, and his value, in the art market. “It seems to me artists with works that are so recognizable – it really lends to their ascension in the art world,” Fallon said. “You see it with artists like Jeff Koons. While some people criticize works that are so commercial, it still seems like they are able to hold values and be collected.”