Made in Iznik, Turkey, about 1545–60, this stonepaste dish is painted in several colours beneath a transparent glaze. Its two sprays of hyacinths and two tulips mark the arrival of a floral style that would shape Ottoman art from the later sixteenth century onward.
The dish is 7.3 cm high and 35.2 cm across. Sage green and manganese purple, unusual colours, appear alongside more typical Iznik tones of blue and turquoise.
A Ming-derived rim and an Iznik centre
The dish has a cusped edge, a rim made with repeating rounded points, based on a Ming prototype. Its rim also carries waves, foam and rocks that recall the Chinese model.
A large, intricate palmette dominates the base of the dish. Around it curl saz, or feathery leaves, which curl over themselves and were a motif commonly used in this period.
Hyacinths and tulips enter the design
Two hyacinth sprays frame the central palmette, while two tulips appear at the lower part of the arrangement.
This kind of ceramic dish was made in fairly limited quantities. It consequently became rare and was much sought after by collectors and museums.
A period of change in Ottoman art
The dish was produced during a period of far-reaching change in Ottoman art. An exterior sticker reads “3 / HOH / Damascus.”