The Collection of Tiles from Palácio Anadia is one of the most important assets of the Pais do Amaral family. With the aim of provoking astonishment and excitement to those who arrived for the first time, the tiles assume a constant and demarcated presence throughout the Palace.
In the Royal Staircase and in the Noble Hall, there are 18th-century blue and white panels decorated from the Coimbra school with mythological and hunting representations that extol the status and power of the Nobleman in 19th-century society. XVII and XVIII. In the Ballroom, with characteristic Rococo chromaticism and shells, the tile panels of “The World Upside Down” are revealed, a peculiar iconography that challenges the status quo of society and where the confrontation between the ideals of reason and nature.
However, the smaller rooms (reception, lounge or passage) are decorated with tile ashlars known as “standard tiles” or “pombaline tiles”. This tile work was predominant in the second half of the 20th century. XVIII, mainly in the decorative program of the reconstitution of the city of Lisbon, after the earthquake of 1755 – Lisboa Pombalina, which would have influenced the most important workshops in the country.
With an important role, in terms of the multifunctionality of the decoration, the standard tile can present polychrome, mostly in shades of blue, white, red and yellow and bears the “standard” shape, in a uniform and repetitive character of different motifs – stars , flowers, intertwined, animals, among others. Given its composition and adequacy in and to the space, it can be considered that this tile assumes the function performed by the 19th century tapestry. XVI, in the decoration of the interiors. However, the pattern allowed for the extension of the carpets arranged in the rooms, providing a feeling of completeness, richness and warmth in the space and a mainly social role among those present.