Tegel uit het kasteel van Breda c. 1500 - 1550

This is a section of painted earthenware tile, likely from the Castle of Breda, and made at an unknown date by an anonymous maker. The castle in the Netherlands was of course a locus of power, and this tile can tell us something about the nature of that power. Here we might consider, for instance, the politics of display. Tiles like this would often have been made for a larger arrangement, perhaps a mural or panel of some kind. Though we don't know what the whole composition was, or precisely where in the castle it was located, it seems likely that such an image would have been designed to impress upon those who viewed it the cultural capital, wealth, and authority of the castle's occupants. These kinds of display weren't just about aesthetics, then, they were also about the social order of the time. To understand them better, we might delve into the archives, consult period documents and images, and piece together a richer picture of the world in which this modest tile played its part.