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Hello everybody! Please help me to identify this porcelain tile.

I am making a somewhat educated guess that your tile might have been used to print transfer patterns used to decorate other tiles. I say "educated guess" because I have a cylinder vase (shown below) that I believe probably was used for the same purpose. In the case of the vase, the pattern is etched into the glazed surface and is virtually invisible. I've revealed it by sooting the surface with a candle, and wiping away all but what settles into the etched design. I presume that in actual use, a liquid pigment or pigments would be used to print the dark outline of the pattern on tissue paper, which would be stuck to another blank vase and pre-fired as a prelude to the final enameling of the piece. Just keep in mind, this is speculation, though I suppose the telling question about your tile in this context would be whether the black outlines are permanent or not.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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