Iznik Polychrome Pottery Tile Decorated with Roses, Chinese Clouds and Khatayis

Project Details

Iznik Polychrome Pottery Tile Decorated with Roses, Chinese Clouds and Khatayis

Ottoman Empire
Second Half of the 16^th Century
Dimensions: 25.5 x 25.5 cm.

Painted under clear glaze with cobalt blue, turquoise, coral red, green; the composition consists of intertwined roses, Chinese clouds and khatayi blossoms.

The Chinese cloud or ‘stylised cloud band motif’ is one of the most favoured motifs of the Ottoman decorative repertoire; frequently used by the artist members of the palace workshop (nakkaşhâne) in the 16^th century. Chinese clouds were widely used to decorate Ottoman ceramics, textiles, manuscripts, carpets, glass and woodwork. In Chinese art, this motif is primarily associated with the strength of the dragon and sometimes represents the smoke coming out of its mouth. However, in Ottoman art, it was generally interpreted as a stylized white cloud in the sky. İnci Ayan Birol, “Tezhip”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi, vol. 41, 2012, pp. 65-68.

In the Ottoman period flowers, roses in particular, were a constant part of daily life, grown in gardens everywhere, from palaces to humble homes. Flowers were blessed reminders of the gardens of heaven. Foreign travellers and ambassadors who visited the empire frequently remarked about this love of flowers. The 17^th century Ottoman writer and traveller Evliya Çelebi describes how vases of roses, tulips, hyacinths, narcissi and lilies were placed between the rows of worshippers in the Eski Mosque and the Üç Şerefeli Mosque in Edirne, and how their scent filled the prayer halls. As depicted in the present tile, vases of flowers adorned niches in the walls, dining trays and rows of vases were placed around rooms and pools.

For Iznik tiles decorated with similar Chinese clouds, in the Benaki Museum, Athens, see, John Carswell & Mina Moraitou and Melanie Gibson, Iznik Ceramics at the Benaki Museum, Benaki Museum – Gingko, London, 2023, No. T11, p. 182. There is an Iznik tile, similarly decorated with Chinese clouds and Khatayi blossoms in the Ömer M. Koç Collection, see, Hülya Bilgi, Ateşin Oyunu – Sadberk Hanım Müzesi ve Ömer M. Koç Koleksiyonlarından İznik Çini ve Seramikleri, Vehbi Koç Vakfı, İstanbul, 2009, No. 103, p. 205.

Categories: Ceramics
Credits: Private Belgian collection acquired at Mansour Gallery, London on the 7th of April 2001, and thence by descent.

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Iznik Polychrome Pottery Tile Decorated with Roses, Chinese Clouds and Khatayis

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