AN IZNIK POTTERY TILE WITH A FLOWER VASE
Ottoman Turkey, 17th century

Of square shape, underglaze-painted in cobalt blue and turquoise on a milky white ground, decorated with a central vase issuing tulips and carnations, featuring a decorative cloudband motif in the middle of the flower stems, flanked by scrolling prunus blossoms and tall turquoise cypress trees, mounted on a black metal stand.

The tile 24.5cm x 24.5cm, 28.5cm high including the stand

Tiles like the present example have been dated to the 17th century, the later period of Iznik tiles production, mostly due to their prominent presence on the walls of 17th-century Ottoman buildings. They appear in the New Mosque (Yeni Camii), Istanbul, completed in 1663, as well as in the Aksungur Camii (Blue Mosque), Cairo, originally built in 1347 and restored under the Ottomans in 1652 - 1654. In 1666 - 1668, following an extensive refurbishment programme as a result of the 1574 fire, several walls of the Topkpaki Palace courtyards were also covered in such tiles (John Carswell, Mina Moraitou, and Melanie Gibson, Iznik Ceramics at the Benaki Museum, 2023, p. 215).

For other similar examples, please see the Benaki Museum, Athens (acc. nos. 20283-20288, 20890) and the British Museum, London (accession no. OA+.10771.1-4).