Name of Object:

Dish

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. 1953.169

Material(s) / Technique(s):

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

Dimensions:

Diameter 29 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Iznik, Turkey.

Description:

A circular stone-paste (fritware) dish with a shallow well, broad, everted rim and a low, circular foot-ring. The well is decorated with seven bouquets, comprising one at the centre, surrounded by six others. The flowers are naively drawn and the pigments overall very pure: red, green and blue with black. The rim has a white, cusped zigzag band, reserved against a green ground; a narrow blue line accentuates the zigzag patterning and contrasts with the white and green.

Towards the end of the late AH 10th century / AD 16th century the artistic quality of Iznik wares began to decline. Raw materials were less refined, colour schemes duller and designs simpler. Dishes with simple floral bouquets were made between the AH late 10th / AD last quarter of the 16th century.

How date and origin were established:

Dishes with similar floral designs have been attributed to the late 10th / late 16th century.

How Object was obtained:

A gift from Miss Beatrice Danford, Newton St. Boswells, in 1953.

How provenance was established:

Ceramics of this type are known to have been produced in Iznik during the late 10th / late 16th century.

Selected bibliography:

Atasoy, N., and Raby, J., Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, p.234, figs. 425, 426 (for comparable pieces).

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike Al-Khamis "Dish" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus03;34;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 34