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, early 11th century / AD early 17th century

Museum Inventory Number:

A. 1967.846

Material(s) / Technique(s):

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

Dimensions:

Diameter 27.3 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Iznik, Turkey.

Description:

A circular stone-paste (fritware) dish that has a shallow well, an everted, flat rim and a low, circular foot. The well shows a young man wearing a green kaftan with a red belt, a blue undershirt and trousers, red boots and a green turban. In his raised right hand he holds a scroll. To the right of the figure is a tall spray of blue hyacinths and a red rose, to his left a blue iris and a blue hyacinth. There is additional floral detailing behind and above the figure, and the rim has a debased wave border executed in black. The underside of the dish is enhanced by an alternating pattern of three blue sprigs and three green sprigs with black outlines. A group of related dishes with similar figures survives, and it has been suggested that the man depicted may be the fictional young lover named Ibrahim, known from popular Ottoman literature. It has been suggested that such plates were produced on the Golden Horn in the 17th century on order from ordinary citizens. A very similar plate is in Château d’Ecouen, Musée de la Renaissance.

Plates showing individual figures flanked by flowers mark the last phase of Iznik production for the popular market, starting in the early AH 11th / AD 17th century. It has been assumed that the man depicted may be a young unfulfilled lover named Ibrahim, known from popular Ottoman literature.

How date and origin were established:

Plates like this one, showing individual figures flanked by flowers, mark the last phase of Iznik production starting in the early 11th / early 17th century.

How Object was obtained:

Purchased from Bluett and Sons, London, in 1967.

How provenance was established:

Stylistically related pieces are known to have been produced in Iznik during the early 11th / 17th century.

Selected bibliography:

Raby, J., and Atasoy, N., Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, pp.274–5, figs. 781–2.
Rackham, B., Islamic Pottery and Italian Maiolica,London, 1959, p.47, cat. no. 201, and plate 87 A.
Türkische Kunst und Kultur aus osmanischer Zeit, exhibition catalogue, Recklinghausen, 1985, p.162, cat. no. 2/44.

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;36;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 36