Plate

Object Details

• Description

  Clay: buff colored, fairly soft.

  Glaze: thin, transparent.

  Decoration: floral designed in underglaze blue.

• Label

  This elegant dish combines blossoms, leaves, and crescent-shaped motifs linked by gracefully interlaced and knotted tendrils. It belongs to a group of blue-and-white wares produced in the Turkish city of Iznik during the early sixteenth century. Inspired by manuscript illumination, reverse-painted motifs--some outlined and shaded in dark blue to create a three-dimensional effect--are characteristic of early Iznik ceramics. While the blue-and-white palette and the blossoms circling the interior rim and exterior well recall Chinese porcelains, these elements are now synthesized into a new and original style expressing Ottoman sensitivity and taste.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016)

  Turkish Art (May 26, 1982 to June 24, 1982)

  Turkish Ceramics (September 24, 1982 to May 10, 1985)

  Turkish Art (November 1, 1980 to May 25, 1982)

  Art of the Near East (August 21, 1977 to December 14, 1979)

  Ceramics from the World of Islam (January 16, 1974 to July 1, 1974)

  Turkish Art—Special Exhibition (August 1 to December 19, 1973)

  Near Eastern Art—Paintings, Pottery (August 18, 1967 to February 10, 1972)

  Near Eastern Art (June 5, 1964 to August 18, 1967)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Manuscripts, Pottery, Metalwork, and Glass (April 12, 1955 to November 21, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Arts, 1947 (October 6, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

• Origin

  Iznik, Turkey

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1500s, 1510s

• Place

  Iznik

• Topic

  Iznik ware, Art, Ottoman period (1307 - 1922), Arts of the Islamic World, Ceramics, Flowers

• Culture

  Muslims, Turks

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)