Making stove tiles is a highly specialised and skilled job and different techniques vary from person to person. Tiles can be either pressed or poured into moulds or hand rolled and cut using fire clay. Tiles are then glazed or hand painted using glazes from naturally occurring minerals. Refractory heat channels are then designed and built in line with client's preferences and requirements and also with mason's experience - some stove builders prefer to use traditional building techniques and clays, whilst others choose modern materials, newly developed mortars or even metal inserts. The result is a unique stove that suits the house and serves its purpose, whether is it heating, cooking or baking.
https://www.thornhillgalleries.co.uk/in-the-fire-light-kachelofen/
Antique Italian Rococo Revival Ceramic Kachelofen
White-glazed ceramic stoves of the 19th century—commonly known as Kachelofen or tiled stoves—were a hallmark of domestic heating across Europe, especially in Austria, Germany, and Scandinavia. Crafted from terracotta or earthenware and finished with a smooth white glaze, these stoves were prized for their exceptional ability to absorb, retain, and gradually radiate heat over long periods. Beyond their practicality, they ranged widely in design, from understated and functional forms to richly ornamented pieces adorned with intricate patterns, reflecting both craftsmanship and regional style.
White glaze ceramic, three-part form including finial, lid, and body, with allover asymmetrical scroll and foliate decoration, lower brass two-hinged door compartment over a single brass door, on a flush brass-edged base.
You light the bottom, coal goes above that, and the top comes off for the smoke to come out.
From the Estate of the late Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, Durham, NC
The Timeless Tradition of Kachelofen
