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Important Iznik Pottery Blue and White Tile.
Ottoman Empire.
Circa 1545-1550.
Dimension: 26 x 26.4 cm.
Fritware, painted under clear glaze with cobalt blue and turquoise; the composition consists of intertwined saz leaves and khatai blossoms, each decorated with white flower heads.
The combination of cobalt blue and turquoise seen on the present tile can also be found on the famous Sünnet Odası(Circumcision Room) tiles in the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul. Especially the saz leaves and khatai blossoms on the side panels of the Circumcision Room tiles feature similar use of cobalt blue and turquoise. Please see, Ahmet Ertuğ and Walter Denny, Gardens of Paradise – 16th Century Turkish Ceramic Tile Production, p. 81.
An important Iznik ‘Damascus style’ dish with similar cobalt blue and turquoise is published in our gallery’s 2017 catalogue Kent Antiques Islamic and Indian Art – Works of Art from the Islamic World and Orientalist Paintings, London, 2017, No. 18.
Comparable Iznik dishes and footed bowls similarly decorated with khatai blossoms in cobalt blue and turquoise, produced between 1545-1550, are published in Nurhan Atasoy & Julian Raby’s Iznik – The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, Alexandria Press, London, 1994, pl. 352 and pl. 358.
Three Iznik tiles, identical to the present tile, are in the Louvre Museum (Inv. No. AD 5971/1, AD 5971/3, AD 5971/4), Paris. Please see, https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010332784
A counterpart of the present tile is published in Couleurs d’Orient – Arts et arts de vivre dans l’Empire Ottoman, Catalogue d’exposition, Villa Empain, Fondation Boghossian, Bruxelles, 18 November 2010 – 27 February 2011, p. 47.
A similar tile decorated with saz leaves and flower heads is found in the Cincinnati Museum. Counterparts of the Cincinnati tile are found in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque in Istanbul. See, Ara Altun & Belgin Arlı’s Tiles – Treasures of Anatolian Soil – Ottoman Period, Kale Group Cultural Publications, Istanbul, 2008, p. 183, fig. 204.
This is a rare tile displaying wonderful precision in outlining and colours which is a result of masterful brushwork and excellent firing.
Provenance
Jacob Collection (1942-1988), Paris.
The BADA Standard
- Since 1918, BADA has been the leading association for the antiques and fine art trade
- Members are elected for their knowledge, integrity and quality of stock
- Our clients are protected by BADA’s code of conduct
- Our dealers’ membership is reviewed and renewed annually
- Bada.org is a non-profit site: clients deal directly with members and they pay no hidden fees
