Skip to Content
Closed now, next open Thursday. Closed now, next open Thursday.

Pair of Tiles with Floral Design

A work made of iznik ware, fritware painted in blue, turquoise, red, green, and black under a transparent glaze.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of iznik ware, fritware painted in blue, turquoise, red, green, and black under a transparent glaze.

Date:

Ottoman dynasty (1299–1923), c. 1560

Artist:

Turkey
Iznik

About this artwork

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, at the height of the Ottoman Empire, ceramic vessels and tiles of remarkable artistic and technical quality were produced at Iznik, a city in northwestern Anatolia. The middle of the sixteenth century was an important moment in the evolution of Iznik wares. To the existing blue-and-white palette was added color: first turquoise, green, and purple, then a red slip. The earlier focus on tableware was supplemented by a new demand for architectural tilework. Also at this time a new style emerged that emphasized floral motifs, such as familiar flowers (roses, carnations, tulips, etc.), as well as compositions of leaves and palmettes. The enduring quality of Iznik at its best and most representative is the effect of bold patterning in brilliant polychrome set against a pure white ground.

The design here consists of elaborate palmettes and sinuously writhing leaves with serrated edges. Rosettes are half-covered by leaves, which, in turn, are pierced by stems. This pattern is typical of the so-called saz style, a term that derives from the words saz kalem, or “reed pen.” The style developed in album drawings in black ink executed during the second half of the sixteenth century and became widely popular in various media. The two works in the Art Institute’s collection can be dated to about 1560, the apogee of Iznik tile production. They were meant to be contiguous since the pattern continues effortlessly from one to the other.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Culture

Islamic

Title

Pair of Tiles with Floral Design

Place

Iznik (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1550–1570

Medium

Iznik ware, fritware painted in blue, turquoise, red, green, and black under a transparent glaze

Dimensions

A: 27.9 × 22.2 × 2 cm (11 × 8 3/4 × 7/8 in.); B: 27.9 × 22.4 × 2.1 cm (11 × 8 13/16 × 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Mary Jane Gunsaulus Collection

Reference Number

1917.219a-b

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/72850/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share