Tile

Thick, flat, hexagonal-shaped architectural tile, with blue and white glazes. Decorated with stylized floral designs in two colors of blue glaze. Coarse, sandy, clay, very well fired.

Historical period(s)
Ottoman period, ca. 1525-50
Medium
Stone-paste painted under glaze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 27.8 x 24.4 x 2.8 cm (10 15/16 x 9 5/8 x 1 1/8 in)
Geography
Turkey, Iznik
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1998.298
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Architectural Element, Ceramic
Type

Tile

Keywords
flower, Ottoman period (1307 - 1922), Turkey
Provenance

To 1998
Axia Art Islamique et Byzantin, London, to 1998 [1]

From 1998
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Axia Art Islamique et Byzantin in 1998

Notes:

[1] According to the seller, the previous owner purchased this object at a public auction in the UK (see Curatorial Note 3 in the object record). See also invoice from Axia Art Islamique et Byzantin, copy in object file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Axia Art Islamique et Byzantin

Description

Thick, flat, hexagonal-shaped architectural tile, with blue and white glazes. Decorated with stylized floral designs in two colors of blue glaze. Coarse, sandy, clay, very well fired.

Label

During the early sixteenth century, Iznik ceramic production focused primarily on vessels. With the accession of the Ottoman ruler Sultan Sulayman (reigned 1522–60), and his ambitious building projects throughout the empire, demand for Iznik tiles grew and rivaled that for ceramic objects. The elegant design of this blue-and-white tile, combining full lotus flowers, broken stems, and serrated leaves, finds many parallels in contemporary ink drawings, textiles, and manuscript illumination. By drawing on a distinct body of designs and skillfully adapting these to different media, sixteenth-century Ottoman artists lend their work a recognizable visual unity and artistic identity.

Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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