Name of Object:

Two tiles

Location:

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

National Museums of Scotland (NMS)

About National Museums of Scotland (NMS), Edinburgh

Date of Object:

Hegira, late 10th century / AD late 16th century

Museum Inventory Number:

A. 1900.159–160

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Stone-paste (fritware), blue, green and black underglaze with a bole-red underglaze slip, over which a clear glaze.

Dimensions:

(159) 24.5 cm x 24.5 cm, (160) 22.8 cm x 22.8 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Iznik, Turkey.

Description:

Two stone-paste (fritware) glazed tiles, tile no. 159 a horizontal composition of naturalistically drawn vines with green leaves and fleshy red grapes that flank a central branch that has small blue and red flowers growing on it. Tile no. 160 shows a dense floral design, with two curved so-called saz leaves superposed in the centre and surrounded by four fantastical half-flowers. The background is filled with sinuous red cloud-bands and delicate blue scrolling.

Since the late AH 950s / AD 1550s tiles like these, commissioned by the Ottoman court for their extensive building programmes in Istanbul and elsewhere, are known to have become the major concern for the Iznik workshops and a large number of examples remain in situ.

How date and origin were established:

The vine and flowering branch design on tile no. 159 relates to other examples dating to the second half of the 10th / 16th century, in particular those used in Takkeci Ibrahim Agha Mosque in Istanbul, dating to around 1000 / 1592 (see Atasoy and Denny, 2000). Tiles such as no. 160 were used in Murad III’s room in the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul in around 985 / 1578, and this design remained popular, if much simplified, until well into the 11th / 17th century.

How Object was obtained:

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

How provenance was established:

Ever since the late 950s / 1550s tiles like these were commissioned by the Ottoman court for their extensive building programs in Istanbul and elsewhere. Such tiles are known to have dominated output in the Iznik workshops and a large number of examples remain in situ.

Selected bibliography:

Atasoy, N., Denny, W. B., Mackie, L. W., and Tezcan, H., Ipek, the Crescent and the Rose: Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets, London, 2000, p.235, fig. 152 (for dating).
Haase, C. P., Kroger, J, and Lienert, U., Oriental Splendour: Islamic Art from German Private Collections,Hamburg, 1993, p.120, cat. no. 73.
Scarce, J., Domestic Culture in the Middle East: An Exploration of the Household Interior, Edinburgh, 1996, p.48.

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike Al-Khamis "Two tiles" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus03;31;en

Prepared by: Ulrike Al-KhamisUlrike Al-Khamis

Ulrike Al-Khamis is Principal Curator for the Middle East and South Asia at the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh. She began her academic career in Germany before completing her BA (1st class Hons) in Islamic Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London in 1987. The same year she moved to Edinburgh, where she completed her Ph.D. thesis on “Early Islamic Bronze and Brass Ewers from the 7th to the 13th Century AD” in 1994. From 1994 to 1999 she worked as Curator of Muslim Art and Culture for Glasgow Museums and, in 1997, was one of the main instigators of the first ever Scottish Festival of Muslim Culture, SALAAM. Since 1999 she has been based at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, where she has curated several exhibitions and continues to publish aspects of the collections. In addition to her museum work she has contributed regularly to the teaching of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Edinburgh.
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: UK3 31