Platesecond half of 16th century

Not on view

Ceramic plate with white ground, wide scalloped rim decorated with cobalt blue cloud motifs, and a central floral arrangement of blue carnation-like blooms, red tulip buds, and green leaves

Ceramic plate with white ground, painted in cobalt blue, green, and red-orange with a central floral bouquet including a large peony-like bloom, surrounded by a border of stylized cloud or blossom motifs; floral sprigs visible on the exterior.

Iznik fritware dish with scalloped rim, white ground painted in cobalt blue, green, and orange-red with large carnations, tulips, and feathery leaves at center; border of scrolling blue cloud bands and floral motifs.

Iznik-style ceramic plate with scalloped rim, white ground painted in cobalt blue, green, and orange-red with carnations, tulips, and saz leaves at center; border filled with cloud-scroll motifs.

Iznik ceramic plate with scalloped rim, white ground painted in cobalt blue, red, and green with a central carnation spray and tulip blossoms; border filled with cloud-scroll and floral motifs.

Title: Plate
Place Made: Turkey, Iznik
Date Made: second half of 16th century
Medium: Fritware, underglaze-painted
Dimensions: 2 3/4 x 13 3/8 in. (6.99 x 33.97 cm)
Credit Line: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number: M.73.5.381
Classification: Ceramics
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: Ceramics made in Iznik, in western Turkey, represent one of the most renowned and influential arts of the Ottoman period. The Iznik kilns, about 85 miles southeast of the capital, Istanbul, manufactured both architectural revetment and tableware such as this handsome plate. It belongs to a specific phase in Iznik ceramics, beginning around the mid-sixteenth century, when potters added a brilliant red and bright grass-green to their palette. This new color scheme, which is the most prevalent among Iznik wares, expanded the creative possibilities of the style, resulting in more adventurous compositions. The painter of this plate experimented with the confines of the round space, allowing the floral stem on the left side to grow up and around the edge of the plate’s interior to create a lively swirling motion.

Objects of this type, both tile revetment and vessels, demonstrate the great variety of ornament used by Iznik potters, including the ubiquitous tulip; lush, plump peonies and carnations; and spiky and scrolling leaves. They also help to illustrate the different stylistic phases of Iznik wares, which in turn reflect the evolution of Ottoman taste in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in a variety of mediums.
Selected Bibliography: Atasoy, Nurhan and Julian Raby. Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey. London: Alexandria Press, 1989.
Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.
Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.
Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.

Related Unframed

Platesecond half of 16th century

Not on view

Title: Plate
Place Made: Turkey, Iznik
Date Made: second half of 16th century
Medium: Fritware, underglaze-painted
Dimensions: 2 3/4 x 13 3/8 in. (6.99 x 33.97 cm)
Credit Line: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number: M.73.5.381
Classification: Ceramics
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: Ceramics made in Iznik, in western Turkey, represent one of the most renowned and influential arts of the Ottoman period. The Iznik kilns, about 85 miles southeast of the capital, Istanbul, manufactured both architectural revetment and tableware such as this handsome plate. It belongs to a specific phase in Iznik ceramics, beginning around the mid-sixteenth century, when potters added a brilliant red and bright grass-green to their palette. This new color scheme, which is the most prevalent among Iznik wares, expanded the creative possibilities of the style, resulting in more adventurous compositions. The painter of this plate experimented with the confines of the round space, allowing the floral stem on the left side to grow up and around the edge of the plate’s interior to create a lively swirling motion.

Objects of this type, both tile revetment and vessels, demonstrate the great variety of ornament used by Iznik potters, including the ubiquitous tulip; lush, plump peonies and carnations; and spiky and scrolling leaves. They also help to illustrate the different stylistic phases of Iznik wares, which in turn reflect the evolution of Ottoman taste in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in a variety of mediums.
Selected Bibliography: Atasoy, Nurhan and Julian Raby. Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey. London: Alexandria Press, 1989.
Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.
Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.
Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.