PANEL

Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro gave tiles a great impor¬tancein decoration, and used them to cover large outdoor and indoor surfaces. The patterned and figurative tiles, in relief, showed care and originality in their compositions, in design and colors of their glazes. After returning from the Universal Exhibition in Paris, in 1889, Bordallo experimented with the winding lines of Art Nouveau portraying grasshoppers, butterflies, frogs, water lilies and crabs, in intelligent styling, creating a universe of unique tiles. Continuing the Bordallo Pinheiro tradition of challenging ceramic techniques (and scale), Bordallo Pinheiro reproduces some of these patterns in a contemporary collection of three large plates. Framed by a wide glazed border that embraces them, the tiles show their usual allure and their innate timelessness.