Tiles were among the first ceramic articles created. Ceramic refers to materials that begin as inorganic nonmetallic substances and then are shaped and fired to create sufficient mechanical strength for their purpose.

Tiles were first produced without any glaze or other surface covering. Messages or names of people were sometimes carved on tiles. Babylonian writings, for example, were carved on tiles, then fired and preserved. Nearly 22,000 carved tiles filled the library of King Assurbanipal.

Early in their use, tiles became decorative items. A fine example and perhaps the first instance of glazed tiles is the Ishtar Gate of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (575 B.C.), re-erected in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The tiles are embossed and depict imaginative yellow and brown animals. Similarly produced tiles still cover doors, facades, and domes of ancient Iranian palaces and mosques. Ceramic tiles appear again and again throughout history, in palaces of diverse cultures and locales.

Ceramic production developed in Italy during the Middle Ages. Roman and Arab sources inspired groups of artists in various towns. From this purely artistic origin, ceramic technology flourished across Europe and has spread throughout the world. Although Italy remains the largest exporter of tile to the USA, other countries are becoming major players. American Tile buys worldwide to provide a blend of cost, style, and technology.

Today, tile is even more functional and decorative, maintaining and improving on the features of the earliest glazed and unglazed tiles. Ceramic tiles, once used only among the upper class, are now widely available and indispensable for their relative low cost, decorative possibilities, hygienic superiority, and lasting durability.