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Lotus tile
Bucharest, Romania
The National Museum of Art of Romania
About The National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest
Hegira 10th century / AD 16th century
18514 / 2212
Fritware, underglaze painting
Height: 22.5cm, Width: 18cm
Ottoman
Probably Syria
Jerusalem
Two lotus blossoms painted in white and black on a cobalt blue ground. A half-blossom can be seen in the bottom right corner, while a complete blossom is shown on a stem to the left. On the back of the tile, the Arabic letters lr lr incised in the paste. Tiles with a similar restricted palette and a similar treatment of the stylised lotus blossoms were used for the redecoration of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, during the extensive restoration ordered by Süleyman the Magnificent. Therefore, the tile could have been made in an Ottoman workshop from Syria dating back to the mid-sixteenth century.
Stylistic analysis
The tile belonged to Marcu Beza, writer and Consul General of Romania in Jerusalem between the wars. Purchased by the Museum in 1956.
Stylistic analysis
Dunca, M., Islamic Art at the National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2015: 104, no. 46.
Porter, V., Islamic Tiles, New York: Indiana University Press, 1995.
Mircea Dunca "Lotus tile" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;rm;Mus21;8;en
Prepared by: Mircea Dunca
MWNF Working Number: RO1 08
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