Copley Square tile

This terracotta tile once adorned the exterior of the original building of the Museum of Fine Arts, completed in 1876 and located in Copley Square. With it's stylized, or simplified interpretation of a cluster of maple leaves, it reflected the ideals of the Design Reform movement, and specifically the influence of British designer Owen Jones. Architect John Hubbard Sturgis commissioned his friend John Marriott Blashfield, a pioneer in architectural terracotta in England, to make these tiles. The difficult logistics of fulfilling the MFA’s overseas order ultimately led to the collapse of Blashfield’s Stamford Terracotta Company.