Dutch Second World War Freedom Tile I

A Dutch Delft De Porceleyne Fles Freedom tile designed by Hendricus Johannes (Henk) Tieman (1921-2001). The tile depicts a dead dragon being stabbed and chopped by the dark silhouette of people, one of which carries the banner inscribed ‘verzet’ translated as resistance. On the tile, the dragon is symbolizing Nazi Germany and therefore the dragon has the swastika on its head. The dark figures shown on the tile are the Dutch resistance fighters killing the enemy from the shadows. The tile pays homage to the fighters that fought for The Netherlands during the Second World War with the inscription at the base, 'Faithful to the fatherland'. Short Biography: Hendricus Johannes (Henk) Tieman was born in 1921 in The Hague. He worked for the Porceleyne Fles ceramic factory from 1938 to 1982 as a tile designer of mostly monumental ceramics for buildings but also worked in mosaic and glass painting. He passed away in 2001 in Rotterdam.