WALL TILES of a highly decorative character were made at least as early as the 12th century in Persia, and it is very probable for a long time before that. The manufacture was continued into the 17th century before the artistic merit of the designs declined. Many, if not most, of the earlier of these mural tiles have designs of a very effective but simple kind painted in enamel glazes of a coppery or dull golden colour, with sometimes a little blue or other tint added, the whole surface having a quiet but pleasing lustre. Others, perhaps a little later in date, while retaining some of this flat coppery painting, have in addition bold ornament and inscriptions in relief, which are further picked out from the light ground by deep blue or greenish-blue colour. The tiles of this class were of larger size, and were used for dadoes, large panels, and cornices or friezes, or a combination of both. They have generally a brilliant lustre, which varies their effect when viewed at different angles. Very beautiful wall tiles without lustre and with ornament somewhat different from the above, but still retaining a Persian character, were made at Damascus, Rhodes, and perhaps other places in the 16th century. The mosques of Damascus and other towns in Asiatic Turkey, as well as those of Cairo, and buildings in Moorish Spain, contain splendid examples of wall-tile decoration; while the mosques in some of the older towns in Persia are similarly decorated with tiles which are distinctly Persian. Coloured tiles are also employed for covering the domes and towers of some churches in Spanish America (see, e.g., MONTEVIDEO).
For coloured representations of these mural tiles, see P. D'Avennes, L'Art Arabe (1877), and H. Wallis, Persian Ceramic Art (Godman collection, 1891); also PERSIA, p. 70; and C. T. Davies, The Manufacture of Bricks, Tiles, Terra Cotta, &c. (new ed. 1889).