This new title from Thames and Hudson provides a fascinating visual history of tiles from the middle ages to the 21st Century. The story of tiles in inseparable from the history of place, politics, economics and culture including the development of architecture, design and ceramics. Tiles were in use in Roman villas to keep rooms warm and were used in ancient Egypt for the decoration of subterranean chambers. The Iznik tiles of Damascus, Turkey and modern day Syria found repute in the 16th and 17th centuries followed by Delft tiles in the 18th Century and then the work of burgeoning tile manufacture in factories in the UK in the 19th Century. During the 19th Century we also see the tile as another medium for artists such as De Morgan and William Morris and indeed this tradition of artist tile maker continued in the 20th Century through the hands of Bernard Leach among others. Hardback. 298 pages. Measurements: 17.6cm x 17.4cm x 2.9cm