Name of Object:

Pair of candlesticks

Location:

London, England, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

The British Museum

About The British Museum, London

Date of Object:

About hegira 936 / AD 1530

Museum Inventory Number:

1878.12-30.521 & 522

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Blue-and-white underglaze ceramic.

Dimensions:

Height 20 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Iznik, Turkey.

Description:

A pair of ceramic candlesticks of identical shape, with blue-and-white underglaze. Candlesticks of this shape were not usually produced in ceramic; the form derives from metalwork, of a type produced for the Italian market. The sloping sides of one of the candlesticks are painted with oval-shaped medallions interspersed with floral motifs, while the second candlestick has an undulating leafy scroll around the sides of the body. Both have floral scrolls around the base, a blue-and-white striped candle-holder, with a further row of flowers around the top. The distinctive 'tadpole' leaf featured here is a common feature of blue-and-white ceramics of this period. The origins of early Iznik blue-and-white ceramics can be traced to Chinese porcelain. These candlesticks were produced during the reign of Sultan Suleyman (AH 926–73 / AD 1520–66) when there was a considerable expansion of the ceramics industry in Iznik.

The design of these Iznik ceramic candlesticks is influenced by Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. This pair was produced in the early years of Süleyman the Magnificent’s reign, when the Iznik ceramic industry expanded considerably.

How date and origin were established:

The date of this type of blue-and-white ceramic is established by a dated cut-down bottle in the British Museum dated 935 (1529). There are also tiles in the tomb of Mustafa Pasha (d. 934–5 / 1528–9) at Gebze, east of Istanbul depicting similar floral types and leaves.

How Object was obtained:

Bequeathed to the British Museum by John Henderson in 1878.

How provenance was established:

Iznik was the main centre of manufacture for ceramics of this style, and produced by this technique, in Ottoman Turkey.

Selected bibliography:

Carswell, J., Iznik Pottery, London, 1998, pp.51–2, plate 28.

Citation of this web page:

Emily Shovelton "Pair of candlesticks" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus01;36;en

Prepared by: Emily ShoveltonEmily Shovelton

Emily Shovelton is a historian of Islamic art. She studied history of art at Edinburgh University before completing an MA in Islamic and Indian art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. Since graduating she has worked on a number of projects at the British Museum. Other recent work includes editing and writing for a digital database of architectural photographs at the British Library. She is currently working on a Ph.D. on “Sultanate Painting in 15th-century India and its relationship to Persian, Mamluk and Indian Painting”, to be completed at SOAS in 2006. A paper on Sultanate painting given at the Conference of European Association of South Asian Archaeologists, held in the British Museum in July 2005, is due to be published next year.
Copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: UK1 51