Iznik Tile
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Iznik pottery, or Iznik ware, named after the town of
İznik İznik () is a municipality and district of Bursa Province, Turkey. Its area is 753 km2, and its population 44,236 (2022). The town is at the site of the ancient city of Nicaea, from which the modern name derives. The town lies in a fertile ...
in
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
where it was made, is a decorated
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
that was produced from the last quarter of the 15th century until the end of the 17th century. Turkish stylization is a reflection of
Chinese porcelain Chinese ceramics are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. They range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese ...
. İznik was an established centre for the production of simple
earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...
pottery with an
underglaze Underglaze is a method of decorating pottery in which painted decoration is applied to the surface before it is covered with a transparent ceramic glaze and fired in a kiln. Because the glaze subsequently covers it, such decoration is completely ...
decoration when, in the last quarter of the 15th century, craftsmen in the town began to manufacture high quality pottery with a
fritware Fritware, also known as stone-paste, is a type of pottery in which ground glass (frit) is added to clay to reduce its fusion temperature. The mixture may include quartz or other siliceous material. An organic compound such as gum or glue may b ...
body painted with
cobalt blue Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminium(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighte ...
under a colourless transparent
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
glaze. The designs combined traditional Ottoman
arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ...
patterns with Chinese elements. The change was almost certainly a result of active intervention and patronage by the recently established Ottoman court in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
who greatly valued Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. During the 16th century the decoration of the pottery gradually changed in style, becoming looser and more flowing. Additional colours were introduced. Initially turquoise was combined with the dark shade of cobalt blue and then the shades of piney green and pale purple were added. From the middle of the century the potters in Iznik produced large quantities of underglazed tiles to decorate the imperial buildings designed by the architect
Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...
. Associated with the production of tiles was the introduction of a very characteristic bole red to replace the purple and a bright emerald green to replace the sage green. From the last decade of the century there was a marked deterioration in quality and although production continued during the 17th century the designs were poor. The last important building to be decorated with tiles from Iznik was the
Sultan Ahmed Mosque The Blue Mosque, officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (), is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed between 1609 and 1617 during the rule of Ahmed I and remains a functioning mosque today. It al ...
(Blue Mosque) in Istanbul that was completed in 1616. The ceramic collection of the Topkapı Palace includes over ten thousand pieces of Chinese porcelain but almost no Iznik pottery. Most of the surviving Iznik vessels are in museums outside Turkey, but examples of the city's tile production exist in numerous cities throughout Turkey, such as
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
,
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
,
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
and
Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...
. In Istanbul examples of Iznik tiling can be seen in mosques, tombs, libraries, and palace buildings, such as the
Rüstem Pasha Mosque The Rüstem Pasha Mosque () is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named after Rüstem Pasha, who ...
, the Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque, the tomb of Selim II in the
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
complex, and certain buildings of the Topkapı Palace complex such as the Circumcision room and the Baghdad Kiosk.


Overview: role of Chinese porcelain

Following the establishment of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in the early 14th century, Iznik pottery initially followed
Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...
antecedents. After this initial period, Iznik vessels were inspired by
Chinese porcelain Chinese ceramics are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. They range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese ...
, which was highly prized by the Ottoman sultans. As the potters were unable to make
porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
, the vessels produced were
fritware Fritware, also known as stone-paste, is a type of pottery in which ground glass (frit) is added to clay to reduce its fusion temperature. The mixture may include quartz or other siliceous material. An organic compound such as gum or glue may b ...
, a low-fired body comprising mainly
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...
and
glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
. The originality of the potters was such that their use of Chinese originals has been described as adaptation rather than imitation. Chinese ceramics had long been admired, collected and emulated in the Islamic world. This was especially so in the Ottoman court and the
Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
court in
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
which had important collections of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. Such Chinese porcelains influenced the style of Safavid pottery and had a strong impact on the development of Iznik ware. By the mid-16th century, Iznik had its own vocabulary of Turkish floral and abstract motifs in tight designs making use of a limited palette. Decoration progressed from pure symmetry to subtle rhythms.


Provenance

From the second half of the 19th century until the 1930s European collectors were confused by the different styles of Iznik pottery and assumed that they originated from different pottery producing centres. Although it is now believed that all the pottery was produced in Iznik (or
Kütahya Kütahya (; historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion; Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the seat of Kütahya Province and Kütahya District. In 19 ...
, see below) the earlier names associated with the different styles are still often used. In the 19th century until the 1860s all Islamic pottery was normally known as 'Persian' ware. However, between 1865 and 1872 the
Musée de Cluny The Musée de Cluny (), officially Musée de Cluny-Musée National du Moyen Âge (), is a museum of medieval art in Paris. It is located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, bordered by square Samuel-Paty to the south, boulevard Saint-Michel to t ...
in Paris acquired a collection of polychrome fritware pottery with a design that included a bright 'sealing-wax red'. As all the items in the collection had been obtained on the island of
Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
it was assumed, erroneously, that the pottery had been manufactured on the island and the term 'Rhodian' ware was adopted for this style. European collectors also purchased a number of pieces decorated in blue, turquoise, sage green and pale purple which were believed to originate from the town of
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
in Syria and became known as 'Damascus' ware. Blue and white fritware pottery became known as 'Abraham of Kutahia ware' as the decoration was similar to that on a small ewer that once formed part of the collection of Frederick Du Cane Godman and is now in the British Museum. The ewer has an inscription in
Armenian script The Armenian alphabet (, or , ) or, more broadly, the Armenian script, is an alphabetic writing system developed for Armenian and occasionally used to write other languages. It is one of the three historical alphabets of the South Caucasu ...
under the glaze on its base stating that the vessel was "in commemoration of Abraham, servant of God, of K'ot'ay ütahya In this year 959 D 1510. In 1905–1907, during the construction of a new post office in the
Sirkeci Sirkeci () is a neighborhood in the Eminönü quarter of the Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey. In the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine period, the area was known as Prosphorion Harbour, Prosphorion ().Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 57 The neighborhood b ...
district of Istanbul near the shore of the
Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...
, pottery fragments were unearthed that were decorated with spiral designs on a white background. As a result, pottery with similar spiral patterns became known as 'Golden Horn ware'. It was not until the 1930s that art historians fully realised that the different styles of pottery were probably all produced in Iznik. In 1957 Arthur Lane, keeper of ceramics at the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
, published an influential article in which he reviewed the history of pottery production in the region and proposed a series of dates. He suggested that 'Abraham of Kütahya' ware was produced from 1490 until around 1525, 'Damascus' and 'Golden Horn ware' were produced from 1525 until 1555 and 'Rhodian' ware from around 1555 until the demise of the Iznik pottery industry at the beginning of the 18th century. This chronology has been generally accepted.


İznik and Kütahya

The 'Abraham of Kutahia' ewer of 1510 is not the only vessel with a possible
Kütahya Kütahya (; historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion; Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the seat of Kütahya Province and Kütahya District. In 19 ...
origin. A damaged water bottle decorated in the 'Golden Horn' style has two
underglaze Underglaze is a method of decorating pottery in which painted decoration is applied to the surface before it is covered with a transparent ceramic glaze and fired in a kiln. Because the glaze subsequently covers it, such decoration is completely ...
inscriptions in
Armenian script The Armenian alphabet (, or , ) or, more broadly, the Armenian script, is an alphabetic writing system developed for Armenian and occasionally used to write other languages. It is one of the three historical alphabets of the South Caucasu ...
; one, dated 1529, refers to the commissioner of the vessel, Bishop Ter Martiros, the other refers to the vessel as being sent as "an object of K'ot'ays" for a monastery. Lane argued that it was unlikely that either the 'Abraham of Kutahia' ewer or the water bottle had been made in Kütahya. However, subsequent archaeological excavations in Kütahya have unearthed fragments of pots in the blue and white Iznik style that had been damaged during manufacture ('wasters') providing evidence that fritware pottery was produced in the town. The designs, materials and manufacturing technique appear to have been similar to that used in İznik. Kütahya is further from Istanbul with less easy access to the capital and was probably only a small pottery producing centre in the 16th century. Nevertheless, it is likely that some of the pottery that is currently labelled as 'Iznik' was manufactured in Kütahya. The art historian Julian Raby has written: "For the moment we have no choice but to call all Ottoman glazed pottery of the 16th and 17th centuries by the generic label 'Iznik', and to hope that in time we can learn to recognise the diagnostic features of contemporary 'Kütahya ware'."


Imperial workshops in Istanbul

During the first half of the 16th century underglaze painted blue-and-white ceramics were also produced in Istanbul. A surviving account book for 1526 that records wages paid to craftsmen employed by the Ottoman court, lists a tilemaker from
Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...
with ten assistants. The tilemaker was probably one of the craftsmen brought to Istanbul after
Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...
had temporary captured Tabriz in 1514. The tile workshops were located in the Tekfur Sarayı neighbourhood of the city near the
Palace of the Porphyrogenitus The Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (), known in Turkish as the ''Tekfur Sarayı'' ("Palace of the Sovereign"), is a late 13th-century Byzantine palace in the north-western part of the old city of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey). An ...
. The craftsmen are believed to have been responsible for all the tiles on the imperial buildings until the construction of the
Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque (, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Seven hills of Istanbul, Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent () and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An ...
in the 1550s. Most of the tiles were decorated with coloured glazes using the '' cuerda seca'' (dry cord) technique, but in a few cases the tiles were underglaze painted in cobalt blue and turquoise. The cuerda seca technique created a new way to glaze these tiles while not requiring the intense labor previous techniques had. These underglaze tiles were used on the revetments of the facade of the Holy Mantle Pavilion (Privy Chamber) in the grounds of the
Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...
and within the mausoleum of
Çoban Mustafa Pasha Çoban Mustafa Pasha (, "Mustafa Pasha the Shepherd"; died 1529) was an Ottoman statesman. Likely born in Bosnia-Herzegovina or Serbian Sandzak, and collected through Devshirme to Janissaries, where he gradually rose through the ranks, he even ...
(d. 1529) in
Gebze Gebze (), formerly known as Libyssa, is a municipality and district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 418 km2, and its population is 407,019 (2022). It is situated 65 km (30 mi) southeast of Istanbul, on the Gulf of Izmit, ...
. The most striking examples are five extremely large rectangular tiles, in length, that form part of the façade of the Circumcision Room (Sünnet Odası) of the Topkapı Palace. Although the building dates from 1641, the tiles are believed to come from an earlier structure on the same site that was erected in 1527–1528. These large tiles are decorated with very elaborate designs that suggests the close involvement of the court designers. Although there are no surviving records detailing the output of the imperial workshops, it is likely that the potters manufacturing the blue-and-white underglaze painted tiles also made other items for the court. The art historian
Gülru Necipoğlu Gülru Necipoğlu (born 3 April 1956 in Istanbul) is a Turkish American professor of Islamic Art/Architecture. She has been the Aga Khan Professor and Director of thAga Khan Program for Islamic Architectureat Harvard University since 1993, where ...
has suggested that an unusual gilded mosque lamp and a decorative ball that come from the Yavuz Selim Mosque should be attributed to the imperial workshop. The lamp and ball have underglaze inscriptional bands in cobalt blue but the mosque itself is decorated only with ''cuerda seca'' tiles. The number of tilemakers employed by the imperial workshops dwindled so that by 1566 only three remained. With the construction of the Süleymaniye Mosque, Iznik became a major center for the manufacture of underglaze tiles.


Miletus ware (15th century)

Archaeological excavations in İznik conducted by Oktay Aslanapa in the early 1960s revealed that the town had been an important centre for the production of simple earthenware pottery well before the introduction of the blue-and-white fritware. The excavations uncovered fragments of what is confusingly known as 'Miletus ware'. The discovery of kiln-wasters confirmed that the pottery was manufactured locally. The name originated from the discovery of
sherd This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...
s during excavations by the German archaeologist Friedrich Sarre at
Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...
on the western coast of
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
in the early 1930s. As Miletus had a long history as a pottery producing centre, it was erroneously assumed that the pottery was produced locally and it became known as 'Miletus ware'. It is now believed that İznik was the main centre for the production of 'Miletus ware' with smaller quantities being produced at
Kütahya Kütahya (; historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion; Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the seat of Kütahya Province and Kütahya District. In 19 ...
and Akçaalan. The excavations have not provided a clear date for the pottery but it is assumed to belong to the 15th century. The archaeological evidence from other sites in Turkey suggests that Miletus ware was produced in large quantities and widely distributed. Miletus ware used a red clay body covered with a white slip which was painted with simple designs under a transparent alkaline lead glaze. The designs were usually in dark cobalt blue but also sometimes in turquoise, purple and green. Many dishes have a central rosette surrounded by concentric bands of gadroons.


Fritware

From the late 15th century, potters in Iznik began producing wares that were decorated in
cobalt blue Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminium(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighte ...
on a white
fritware Fritware, also known as stone-paste, is a type of pottery in which ground glass (frit) is added to clay to reduce its fusion temperature. The mixture may include quartz or other siliceous material. An organic compound such as gum or glue may b ...
body under a clear glaze. Both the manufacturing technique and the
underglaze Underglaze is a method of decorating pottery in which painted decoration is applied to the surface before it is covered with a transparent ceramic glaze and fired in a kiln. Because the glaze subsequently covers it, such decoration is completely ...
designs were very different from that used in the production of Miletus ware. Fritware had been made in the
Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...
from the 13th century, but Iznik fritware, achieving a white surface, was a major innovation. Fritware (also called stonepaste) is a composite material made from quartz sand mixed with small amounts of finely ground glass (called
frit A frit is a ceramic composition that has been fused, quenched, and granulated. Frits form an important part of the batches used in compounding enamels and ceramic glazes; the purpose of this pre-fusion is to render any soluble and/or toxic com ...
) and some clay. When fired, the glass frit melts and binds the other components together. In the 13th century the town of
Kashan Kashan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kashan County), Central District of Kashan County, in the northern part of Isfahan province, Isfahan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Earlies ...
in Iran was an important centre for the production of fritware. Abū'l-Qāsim, who came from a family of tilemakers in the city, wrote a treatise on precious stones in 1301 that included a chapter on the manufacture of fritware. His recipe specified a fritware body containing a mixture of 10 parts
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...
to 1 part glass frit and 1 part clay. There is no equivalent treatise on the manufacture of Iznik pottery, but analysis of the surviving pieces indicates that the potters in İznik used roughly similar proportions. In Kashan the frit was prepared by mixing powdered quartz with soda which acted as a
flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications in physics. For transport phe ...
. The mixture was then heated in a kiln. In İznik, as well as quartz and soda,
lead oxide Lead oxides are a group of inorganic compounds with formulas including lead (Pb) and oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), gr ...
was added to the frit. As the fritware paste lacked plasticity and was difficult to work on the wheel, vessels were seldom made in one piece. Instead they were formed in separate sections that were allowed to dry and then stuck together using the fritware paste. This additive technique meant that there was a tendency for the final vessels to have slightly angular shapes. Dishes were almost certainly made using a mould attached to a potter's wheel. A lump of fritware paste would have been rolled out into a sheet much like when a cook rolls out pastry. The sheet would have been placed on the mould to form the inside of the dish. The underside of the dish would have been shaped using a template as the mould was rotated on the wheel. When the paste was partly dry the foliate rim would have been sculptured by hand. The fritware body was coated with a thin layer of white slip. This had a similar composition to the fritware paste used for the body, but the components were more finely ground and more carefully selected to avoid iron impurities that would discolour the white surface. It is likely that an organic binder was also added such as
tragacanth gum Tragacanth is a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of Middle Eastern legumes of the genus ''Astragalus'', including '' A. adscendens'', '' A. gummifer'', '' A. brachycalyx'', and '' A. tragacantha''. Some of these species ...
. Although in his treatise Abū'l-Qāsim recommended that fritware vessels were allowed to dry in the sun before being decorated, it is probable that Iznik ceramics was given a
biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. ...
firing. The pottery was painted with pigments that had been mixed with glass frit and ground in a wet
quern Quern () is a former municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Since 1 March 2013, it has been part of the municipality of Steinbergkirche Steinbergkirche () is a municipality in the district of ...
. For some designs the outlines were pounced through a stencil. In the early period only cobalt blue was used for decoration. The cobalt ore was probably obtained from the village of Qamsar near the town of
Kashan Kashan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kashan County), Central District of Kashan County, in the northern part of Isfahan province, Isfahan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Earlies ...
in central Iran. Qamsar had long been an important source of cobalt and is mentioned by Abū'l-Qāsim Qamsarin in his treatise. From around 1520 turquoise ( copper oxide) was added to the palette. This was followed by purple (
manganese oxide Manganese oxide is any of a variety of manganese oxides and hydroxides.Wells A.F. (1984) ''Structural inorganic chemistry'' 5th edition Oxford Science Publications, . These include * Manganese(II) oxide, MnO * Manganese(II,III) oxide, Mn3O4 * Man ...
), green, grey and black. The distinctive bright bole red was introduced in around 1560. The red slip containing
iron oxide An iron oxide is a chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Ferric oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which is rust. Iron ...
was applied in a thick layer under the glaze. Even after the introduction of a range of different pigments, vessels were sometimes still produced with a restricted palette. The wares were glazed with a lead-
alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...
-tin glaze, whose composition has been found from analysis to be
lead oxide Lead oxides are a group of inorganic compounds with formulas including lead (Pb) and oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), gr ...
25-30 percent,
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...
45–55 percent,
sodium oxide Sodium oxide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is used in ceramics and glasses. It is a white solid but the compound is rarely encountered. Instead "sodium oxide" is used to describe components of various materials such as glasses and f ...
8–14 percent and
tin oxide Tin oxide may refer to: * Tin(II) oxide (stannous oxide), a black powder with the formula SnO * Tin(IV) oxide Tin(IV) oxide, also known as stannic oxide, is the inorganic compound with the formula SnO2. The mineral form of SnO2 is called cassite ...
4–7 percent. Tin oxide is often employed to render glaze opaque but in İznik glazes, it remains in solution and is transparent. Abū'l-Qāsim described the use of earthenware saggars with a fitting lid. Although Miletus ware bowls were stacked in the kiln one on top of the other separated by spurs, the lack of spur marks on Iznik fritware suggests that saggars were used. Firing was done in an updraft kiln, to about 900 °C.


Blue-and-white ware (1480–1520)

In the final decades of the 15th century, potters in Iznik began producing blue-and-white fritware ceramics with designs that were clearly influenced by the Ottoman court in Istanbul. There are no surviving written documents that provide details on how this came about. The earliest specific mention of Iznik pottery is in the accounts for the Imperial kitchens of the Tokapi palace for 1489–1490 where the purchase of 97 vessels is recorded. The earliest datable objects are blue-and-white border tiles that decorate the mausoleum (''
türbe ''Türbe'' refers to a Muslim mausoleum, tomb or grave often in the Turkish-speaking areas and for the mausolea of Ottoman sultans, nobles and notables. A typical türbe is located in the grounds of a mosque or complex, often endowed by the ...
'') in
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
of Şehzade Mahmud, one of the sons of
Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...
, who died in 1506–1507. The term 'Abraham of Kütahya ware' has been applied to all the early blue-and-white Iznik pottery as the 'Abraham of Kütahya' ewer, dating from 1510, is the only documented vessel. The art historian Julian Raby has argued that the term is misleading as the ewer is atypical and has instead proposed the term 'Baba Nakkaş ware' after the name of the leading designer attached to the Imperial court in Istanbul. The earliest surviving Iznik fritware objects, dating from probably around 1480, are believed to be a group of vessels painted in a dark cobalt blue in which much of the dense decoration is in white on a blue background. The vessels have separate areas of Ottoman arabesque and Chinese floral designs. The combination of these two styles is referred to as ''Rumi-Hatayi'' where ''Rumi'' denotes the Ottoman arabesque patterns and ''Hatayi'' the Chinese inspired floral patterns. Many of the meticulously painted arabesque motifs of this early period are believed to be influenced by Ottoman metalwork. Although both the use of cobalt blue on a white background and the shape of large dishes were clearly influenced by Chinese porcelain from the Yuan and
Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...
dynasties, the early Iznik fritware dishes were far from being direct copies of Chinese designs. In some pieces, such as the front of a large charger with a foliate rim in the Çinili Koşk Museum in Istanbul, the decoration used only Ottoman ''Rumi'' designs. During the first two decades of the 16th century there was a gradual shift in style with the introduction of a brighter blue, more use of a white background and a greater use of floral motifs. Dating from this period are four
mosque lamp Fine mosque lamps are oil lamps that typically have a large round body and a narrower neck that flares towards the top. They were often made with internal containers to be filled with oil and a wick to produce light. They were usually made of ...
s from the mausoleum of Sultan
Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...
in Istanbul which was constructed in 1512–13. A fifth lamp that probably also came from the mausoleum is now in the British Museum. These pottery
mosque lamp Fine mosque lamps are oil lamps that typically have a large round body and a narrower neck that flares towards the top. They were often made with internal containers to be filled with oil and a wick to produce light. They were usually made of ...
s are of a similar shape to
Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
glass lamps. There was a tradition of hanging pottery lamps in mosques dating back at least to the 13th century. The opaque pottery lamps would have been completely useless for lighting and they instead served a symbolic and decorative function. The lamps from Bayezid II's mausoleum are decorated with bands of geometric motifs and ''
kufic The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script, that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts ...
'' inscriptions but around the centre they have a very prominent broad band containing large rosettes and stylized lotus blossoms. File:Iznik jar ca 1480.jpg, Jar with reserved decoration on a dark cobalt ground, c. 1480 File:Iznik blue-and-white tile fragment.jpg, Fragmentary tile similar to those in mausoleum of Şehzade Mahmud in
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
, 1506–1507 File:Iznik mosque lamp chain ca 1510.jpg,
Mosque lamp Fine mosque lamps are oil lamps that typically have a large round body and a narrower neck that flares towards the top. They were often made with internal containers to be filled with oil and a wick to produce light. They were usually made of ...
, c. 1510 File:Iznik candle holder ca 1525.jpg, Candlestick, c. 1525 File:Wallpaper group-cmm-6.jpg, Rimless deep bowl, c. 1525–1530


Form

The two most prevalent colors on the dish are white and blue, which is a direct influence of Chinese art. The base of the ceramic is white color so that the blue intricate designs will display great contrast. The blue color used on the dish is striking, allowing the delicate vegetal designs to power through and shine.


Patronage by the Ottoman court: Süleyman the Magnificent

After the conquest of
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
in 1453, the Ottoman sultans started a huge building programme. In these buildings, especially those commissioned by Süleyman, his wife Hürrem (
Roxelana Hürrem Sultan (; , "''the joyful one''"; 1505– 15 April 1558), also known as Roxelana (), was the chief consort, the first Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the legal wife of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and the mother ...
) and his Grand Vizier
Rüstem Pasha Rüstem Pasha (; ; 1505 – 10 July 1561) was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier to Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha (the epithet ''damat'' meaning 'son-in-law') as a result of ...
, large quantities of tiles were used. The
Sultan Ahmed Mosque The Blue Mosque, officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (), is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed between 1609 and 1617 during the rule of Ahmed I and remains a functioning mosque today. It al ...
in Istanbul (the "Blue Mosque") alone contains 20,000 tiles. The
Rüstem Pasha Mosque The Rüstem Pasha Mosque () is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named after Rüstem Pasha, who ...
is more densely tiled and tiles were used extensively in the
Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...
. As a result of this demand, tiles dominated the output of the Iznik potteries. Under
Süleyman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the Ottoman sultan between 1520 and his death in 1566. Under his adminis ...
(1520–1566), demand for Iznik wares increased. Jugs, hanging lamps, cups, bowls and dishes were produced, inspired by metalwork and illuminated books as well as Chinese ceramics. Many large dishes were made with looser designs, incorporating ships, animals, trees and flowers. The dishes appear to have been made for display, as most have pierced footrings so that they can be hung up, but they have been observed also to be scratched from use. Designs in the 1520s include the ''saz'' style in which a long, serrated ''saz'' (reed) leaf, dynamically arranged, is balanced by static rosette forms. In the second half of the sixteenth century the more natural ''quatre fleurs'' style was also introduced. This used a repertoire of stylised tulips, carnations, roses and hyacinths. It was promoted by Kara Memi (Kara Mehmed Çelebi) who by 1557/8 was the chief artist of Sultan Süleyman's court.


'Golden Horn ware' (c. 1530 – c. 1550)

The so-called 'Golden Horn ware' was a variation on the blue-and-white decoration that was popular from the late 1520s to 1550s. Golden Horn ware was so named because sherds in this style were excavated in the
Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...
area of Istanbul. It was later realized that the pottery was made in İznik as some motifs on the vessels closely resembled those used on other blue-and-white Iznik pottery. The decoration consists of a series of thin spirals adorned with small leaves. The narrow rims of dishes are painted with a meandering pattern. The design is similar to the illuminated spiral scrolls used as a background to Sultan Suleyman's '' Tuğra'', or imperial monogram. Julian Raby has used the term Tuğrakeş'' spiral ware' as the ''tuğrakeş'' were the specialist calligraphers in the Ottoman court. The earlier vessels were painted in cobalt blue while later vessels often include turquoise, olive-green and black. A number of dishes dating from this period show the influence of Italian pottery. The small bowls and a large flat rims are similar in shape to
maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. The most renowned Italian maiolica is from the Renaissance period. These works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ("painted with stories") when depicting historical and ...
''tondino'' dishes that were popular in Italy between 1500 and 1530. The 1520s was a period which saw the spiral-decorated ‘Golden Horn’ wares with their close link to imperial manuscript illumination, and the close relationship between imperial architecture and pottery vessels produced at Iznik, and an adaptation of Chinese porcelain designs represented by the collections of the Topkapi Saray File:Iznik Kutahya flask dated 1529.jpg, Cut down water bottle, probably made in
Kütahya Kütahya (; historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion; Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the seat of Kütahya Province and Kütahya District. In 19 ...
, dated 1529 File:Iznik dish golden horn ca 1530.jpg, Deep dish with foliate rim, c. 1530 File:Iznik water bottle golden horn ca 1530-1535.jpg , Water bottle, c. 1530–1535 File:Tondino spirals Iznik MBA Lyon D167-1.jpg, ''Tondino'' dish, c. 1530–1540 File:Plate foliated edge Iznik MBA Lyon D298.jpg, Deep dish with foliate rim, c. 1530–1540 File:Ewer, Golden Horn ware, Turkey, probably Iznik, Ottoman period, c. 1530-1540, earthenware with underglaze painting in cobalt blue - Cincinnati Art Museum - DSC04087.JPG, Ewer, c. 1530–1540


'Damascus ware' (c. 1540 – c. 1555)

The so-called 'Damascus ware' was popular under
Süleyman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the Ottoman sultan between 1520 and his death in 1566. Under his adminis ...
from 1540 to 1555. Vessels were decorated for the first time with sage green and pale purple, in addition to
cobalt blue Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminium(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighte ...
and
turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue. The robi ...
, and form a transition towards full-fledged polychrome ceramics. They were mistakenly believed to have originated from Damascus by art collectors in the second half of the 19th century. The name is particular misleading as tiles with a similar palette of pastel colours and floral designs were made in
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
from the second half of the 16th century. A key object from this period is a ceramic vessel in the form of a mosque lamp with an inscribed date that is now in the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. It is the best documented surviving piece of Iznik pottery and enables scholars to fix the dates and provenance of other objects. The lamp was discovered on the
Temple Mount The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...
in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
in the middle of the 19th century and is believed to have been associated with the refurbishment of the
Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock () is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. It is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the List_of_the_ol ...
initiated by
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
. Around the base of the lamp are a series of inscribed cartouches giving the name of the decorator (Musli), a dedication to the İznik ''
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
'' saint Eşrefzâde Rumi, and the date of AH 956 in the month of ''Jumada'l-Ula'' (AD 1549). The lamp is decorated in green, black and two shades of blue. The design includes pale blue cloud-banks, small-scale arabesques on a green ground and a row of tulip buds in dark-blue cartouches. The lamp can be used to date a group of other vessels including some large footed basins. Although the basins are quite different from the lamp in overall style, each basin shares motifs present on the lamp. File:Iznik dish British Museum G.21.jpg, Dish with cloud scrolls that are similar to those on the lamp, and a
rock and wave The rock and wave design or Motif (visual arts), motif is found painted on the outer borders of some Asian ceramics. It originated in Chinese porcelain of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) and was later very often used in Iznik pottery and o ...
border, c. 1550 File:Iznik dish British Museum 1878,1230.530.jpg, Dish with ''saz'' leaves and flowers, c. 1545–1550 File:Peacock dish Louvre K3449.jpg, Dish covered with rosettes, ''saz'' leaves and a peacock, c. 1540–1555 File:Iznik dish British Museum G.37.jpg, Dish covered with rosettes and ''saz'' leaves, c. 1545–1550 File:Turkish - Iznik Fritware Plate - Walters 482057.jpg, Rimless shallow dish with flowers and a cypress, c. 1525–1550
There are only two surviving buildings with tiles that use the purple colour scheme. The earliest is the Yeni Kaplıca bathhouse in
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
where the walls are covered with hexagonal tiles set on their points. The tiles are decorated with arabesques and floral motifs painted in blue, turquoise, olive green and purple. There are nine different designs. The tiles were originally installed in a different building but were transferred to the Yeni Kaplıca bathhouse when it was restored by the grand vizier
Rüstem Pasha Rüstem Pasha (; ; 1505 – 10 July 1561) was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier to Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha (the epithet ''damat'' meaning 'son-in-law') as a result of ...
in 1552–1553. The tiles probably date from the late 1540s. The other building is the Hadim Ibrahim Pasha Mosque at Silivrikapı in Istanbul which was designed by the imperial architect
Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...
and completed in 1551. Under the portico on the north façade are three tiled lunette panels and two roundels. The panels have white ''
thuluth ''Thuluth'' (, ' or , '; , ''Sols''; Turkish: ''Sülüs'', from ' "one-third") is an Arabic script variety of Islamic calligraphy. The straight angular forms of Kufic were replaced in the new script by curved and oblique lines. In ''Thuluth'', ...
'' lettering reserved on a dark cobalt blue background. Between the letters are flowers in purple and turquoise. Within the mosque above the ''mihrab'' is a large lunette panel with tiles painted in cobalt blue, turquoise and dark olive green.


Polychrome ceramics (1560–1600)


Tiles

Beginning in the middle of the 16th century, the potters in Iznik began producing coloured fritware tiles to decorate the imperial buildings designed by the head architect
Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...
. Exactly how this was organised is not known, but Sinan as architect was almost certainly involved in coordinating the design of the tilework with the architecture of the buildings. Large quantities of tiles were required. In the 1550s and early 1560s the potters in Iznik made tiles for the
Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque (, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Seven hills of Istanbul, Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent () and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An ...
in Istanbul, the mausoleum of Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana) (completed in 1558), the Great Mosque in
Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...
(in around 1560), the
Rüstem Pasha Mosque The Rüstem Pasha Mosque () is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named after Rüstem Pasha, who ...
in Istanbul (completed in around 1563), and the mausoleum of Süleyman I (completed in 1567). The mausoleums of Süleyman I and that of his wife Hurrem Sultan are both located in the grounds of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul. Associated with this switch to tile production were important changes in the aesthetics. A bright red colour was introduced by the use of an iron containing bole applied as slip under the glaze. The red colour would become a common feature of Iznik tiles and pottery. The first building to have tiles with red was the
Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque (, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Seven hills of Istanbul, Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent () and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An ...
in Istanbul which was designed by the imperial architect
Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...
and completed in 1557. The tile decoration inside the mosque is restricted to around the ''
mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...
'' on the ''
qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...
'' wall. The repeating rectangular tiles have a stencil-like floral pattern on a white ground. The flowers are mainly blue but there is also turquoise, black and red. Outside the mosque on the north facade within the courtyard the windows have rectangular Iznik tile lunettes panels with text from the Quran. The white letters are written in ''
thuluth ''Thuluth'' (, ' or , '; , ''Sols''; Turkish: ''Sülüs'', from ' "one-third") is an Arabic script variety of Islamic calligraphy. The straight angular forms of Kufic were replaced in the new script by curved and oblique lines. In ''Thuluth'', ...
'' script on a dark blue ground. The decoration on these tiles also includes the bole red. The next major monument designed by Sinan was the
Rüstem Pasha Mosque The Rüstem Pasha Mosque () is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named after Rüstem Pasha, who ...
which was completed in 1563. In contrast to the restrained use of tiles in the
Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque (, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Seven hills of Istanbul, Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent () and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An ...
, the surfaces in the interior and the façade under the portico at the entrance are all lavishly decorated with tiles. More than 80 different designs are used. Most of the tiles are in panels of repetitive patterns where each tile is identical to the others. The mosque is the first with the Kara Memi inspired red tulips and carnations. The ''
mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...
'' is decorated with tiles painted with a thin brownish red but in other parts of the mosque there are tiles with the thick sealing-wax red relief. The purple used on 'Damascus ware' did not combine well the red bole and only a few monuments use both colours. Purple is used with red in the tiled panel depicting flowering prunus under the portico to the left of the entrance of
Rüstem Pasha Mosque The Rüstem Pasha Mosque () is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named after Rüstem Pasha, who ...
in Istanbul. 'Damascus ware' used a sage-green - a green with a greyish tone. This colour was used sparingly on the tiles of the mausoleum of Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana) (1558) but no green was used on the tiles of the Great Mosque in
Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...
(c. 1560) nor on the mausoleum of
Rüstem Pasha Rüstem Pasha (; ; 1505 – 10 July 1561) was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier to Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha (the epithet ''damat'' meaning 'son-in-law') as a result of ...
(1562). With the exception of a tiled panel above an external doorway which was added at later date, none of the tiles in the Rustem Pasha Mosque include green in their decoration. The bright emerald green was introduced for the first time on the portico panels of Süleyman's mausoleum in the funerary garden of the Süleymaniye complex, which was completed in 1567. File:Enderun library Topkapi 42.JPG, Iznik tiles in the Neo-classical Enderûn Library in the
Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...
File:Turkey; Iznik - Two Tiles - Google Art Project.jpg, Two tiles, c. 1560 File:Tile Iznik Met 64.27.17.jpg, Tile with ''saz'' leaves, tulips and prunus flowers, third quarter 16th century File:Tile panel flowers Louvre OA3919-2-297.jpg, Tile panel, second half 16th century File:Tile panel mandorla Louvre OA3919-2-247e.jpg, Tiled panel with a central
mandorla A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with '' vesica'', a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in tra ...
, c. 1580 File:Rüstem Pasha mosque tile.jpg, Detail of a tile in the
Rüstem Pasha Mosque The Rüstem Pasha Mosque () is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named after Rüstem Pasha, who ...
, c. 1563 File:Rüstem Pasha mosque tiles - single tile.jpg, Wall tile in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, c. 1563 File:Adana Ulu Camii Mihrab.jpg, Tile in the Mihrab of the
Great Mosque of Adana The Great Mosque of Adana (), also known as the Ramazanoglu Mosque (), is a mosque from the 16th century in Adana, Turkey. It forms part of a complex (''külliye'') that includes a madrasah and a mausoleum (''türbe''). The complex is on Kızıl ...
, c. 1560


Pottery

An important object in the study of Iznik pottery is a mosque lamp that is now in the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
in London. The lamp is believed to have made for the
Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque (, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Seven hills of Istanbul, Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent () and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An ...
in Istanbul which was completed in 1557. The lamp is the earliest object of a known date with the bole-red decoration that was to become a characteristic feature of Iznik tiles and pottery. The red on the lamp is thin, brownish and uneven. A few surviving dishes that use a similar thin red colouring are believed to date from the same period. There are no surviving vessels with a date between that of the
Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock () is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. It is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the List_of_the_ol ...
mosque lamp of 1549 until 1606/7. Many Iznik tiles survive on buildings of known date and although the designs generally differs from those used on pottery, it is often possible to determine an approximate date of a vessel by comparing the composition and motifs with those on tiles.


Dishes

File:Animal Decorated Ottoman Pottery P1000585.JPG, Dish with peacocks and flowers, c. 1575 File:Dish with saz leaf design, Turkey, Iznik, c. 1575, underglaze-painted stonepaste - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC04737.JPG, Dish with a ''saz'' leaf and flowers, c. 1575 File:Iznik polychrome ware late 16th early 17th century.jpg, Dish with plain rim, late 16th – early 17th century File:Gulbenkian-Prunus blossom tree.jpg, Dish with a prunus tree reserved in white on a green ground, c. 1585 File:Plate Iznik MBA Lyon E500-62.jpg, Dish with plain rim, 1580–1600 File:Animal Decorated Ottoman Pottery P1000581.JPG, Dish with animals in reserve on a green background, c. 1580–1585


Other objects

File:Pitcher Iznik Louvre OA7595.jpg, Pitcher with flower decoration, c. 1560–1570 File:Tankard BM G.1983.59.jpg, Tankard with cypresses and flowers, c. 1560 File:Tankard, Iznik, Turkey, c. 1575-1585 AD, stonepaste body painted under glaze - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC05425.JPG, Tankard with ships, c. 1575–1585 File:Turkish - Mosque Lamp - Walters 481301 - View A.jpg, Mosque lamp, c. 1580–1585 File:Jar with tulips, Iznik ware, Turkey, Iznik, Ottoman period, last quarter of 16th century, earthenware with underglaze polychrome painting - Cincinnati Art Museum - DSC04090.JPG, Ewer, last quarter 16th century File:Bottle BM 1878 12-30 465.jpg, Bottle with roses, carnations and other flowers, c. 1560–1580 File:Lidded bowl BM 1878.12-30.479.jpg, Lidded bowl decorated with cypresses, tulips and carnations, c. 1560–1580 File:Spherical Hanging Ornament, 1575-1585.jpg, Spherical hanging ornament, c. 1575–1585


Decline (1600–1700)

Towards the end of the 16th century there was a marked decline in the quality of the pottery produced in İznik. This has been linked to the loss of patronage by the Ottoman court and with the imposition of fixed prices in a period of inflation. Another important factor was that from the middle of the 16th century increasing quantities of Chinese porcelain were imported into Turkey. The İznik craftsmen failed to compete with the high quality imports and instead produced pottery with crudely painted rustic designs. Although the Chinese imports did not compete with locally produced tiles, there was little new imperial building and therefore little demand. Even when the court required tiles such as for the mausoleum of
Ahmed I Ahmed I ( '; ; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide; henceforth, Ottoman rulers would no ...
built between 1620 and 1623, the low prices led to a drop in the living standards of the potters. They responded by finding new markets outside the Ottoman imposed price system. Tiles were exported to Cairo where they were used to decorate the Aksunkur Mosque which was remodelled by Ibrahim Agha in 1651–1652. Tiles were also exported to Greece where in 1678 the Monastery of the Great Lavra on
Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...
was decorated with polychrome tiles inscribed with Greek lettering. Nevertheless, there was a decline in the volume of pottery produced and by the mid-17th century only a few kilns remained. The last dated pottery are dishes with crude uncial Greek inscriptions from 1678. File:Iznik ship VA 1625-1650.jpg, Dish with a ship, c. 1625–1650 File:Iznik dish pagoda dated 1666.jpg , Dish with a pagoda like building and an uncial Greek inscription, dated 1666 File:Dish with a riderless horse, Turkey, Iznik, Ottoman dynasty, early 17th century, painted and glazed stonepaste - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC04591.JPG, Dish with riderless horse, early 17th century File:Dish with a spray of two saz leaves and scale pattern, Turkey, Iznik, 17th century AD, composite body, underglaze-painted - Huntington Museum of Art - DSC05018.JPG, Dish with ''saz'' leaves and scale pattern, 17th century Pottery vessels that combine traditional Iznik designs with modern themes are now produced for the tourist trade in Kütahya.


See also

* Chinese influences on Islamic pottery


Notes


References


Sources

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Further reading

* * * * * * *. * * * *


External links

*
Photographs of Iznik tiles in Istanbul taken by Dick Osseman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iznik pottery Pottery Culture of Turkey Turkish art Islamic pottery İznik Tiling Turkish inventions