Name of Object:

Tile

Location:

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

National Museums of Scotland (NMS)

 About National Museums of Scotland (NMS), Edinburgh

Date of Object:

Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century

Museum Inventory Number:

A. 1900.167

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Stone-paste (fritware) with blue, green and turquoise underglaze, over which a clear glaze.

Dimensions:

28 cm x 28 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Damascus, Syria.

Description:

A stone-paste (fritware) tile that has a stenciled, symmetrical design based on four arabesque cartouches and four rose-like flowers that spring from a central star motif. The cartouches extend towards the tips of larger arabesque medallions in the corners of the tile, while the flowers have two curved stems extending above, ending in half-flowers to the left and right. This tile was part of a larger overall tile scheme.

View Short Description

Tiles like this one are typical of tile production in Ottoman Syria during the AH 11th century / AD 17th century. They were on the whole intended to echo the Iznik style, but a typical feature of Syrian pieces is a palette restricted to blue, green, turquoise without the addition of bole-red.

How date and origin were established:

It is accepted that tiles such as this were produced in Ottoman Syria during the 11th / 17th-century.

How Object was obtained:

Purchased from the Major W. J. Myers Collection in 1900.

How provenance was established:

Tiles such as this one are typical of those produced in Ottoman Syria where the output was largely Iznik ware distinguished by a palette restricted to blue, green and turquoise without the addition of bole-red.

Selected bibliography:

Atasoy, N., and Raby, J., Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, p.232, fig. 411 (For a similar Iznik-produced tile with virtually identical design and related to others placed in the mausoleum of Sultan Selim II in the Ayasofya).

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike Al-Khamis "Tile" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus03;50;en

Prepared by: Ulrike Al-Khamis
Copyedited by: Mandi Gomez


MWNF Working Number: UK3 50