Damascus Tulip Dish
Ottoman Syria (probably Damascus), Second half of the 16th century
Fritware with polychrome underglaze decoration
30 cm diameter
30 cm diameter
A3135a
Further images
Provenance: Purchased in the UK in 2009.
A fritware dish with a deep well, decorated with purple tulips and blue hyacinths growing from a tuft of blue grass. The plain cavetto leads to a scalloped rim, decorated with alternating blue flowers and green leaves. The reverse of the dish is decorated with black water weeds and blue flower heads.
When Syria came under Ottoman control in the early 16th century, a huge architectural project began. New buildings meant a high demand for tiles, so rather than importing tiles from Iznik, ceramic workshops were set up in Damascus. Though employing the same repertoire of designs as potters in Iznik, Turkey, Syrian potters did not achieve the same vibrant colours. Rather, the palette is domianted by olive and sage greens, purple, blue, and black outlines. These wares tend to have a slightly yellow ground, and the finish is less refined than Iznik, frequently leaving spur marks from the kiln and unglazed foot rings.[1]
A dish with similar decoration, dating to the second half of the 16th century, is in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (accession no. EA1978.1478). In addition to the plain cavetto, hyacinth and tulip decoration at the centre, and floral rim, the reverse is near-identical.
[1] Lane, Arthur. Later Islamic Pottery. London: Faber and Faber, 1957, p. 62.
A fritware dish with a deep well, decorated with purple tulips and blue hyacinths growing from a tuft of blue grass. The plain cavetto leads to a scalloped rim, decorated with alternating blue flowers and green leaves. The reverse of the dish is decorated with black water weeds and blue flower heads.
When Syria came under Ottoman control in the early 16th century, a huge architectural project began. New buildings meant a high demand for tiles, so rather than importing tiles from Iznik, ceramic workshops were set up in Damascus. Though employing the same repertoire of designs as potters in Iznik, Turkey, Syrian potters did not achieve the same vibrant colours. Rather, the palette is domianted by olive and sage greens, purple, blue, and black outlines. These wares tend to have a slightly yellow ground, and the finish is less refined than Iznik, frequently leaving spur marks from the kiln and unglazed foot rings.[1]
A dish with similar decoration, dating to the second half of the 16th century, is in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (accession no. EA1978.1478). In addition to the plain cavetto, hyacinth and tulip decoration at the centre, and floral rim, the reverse is near-identical.
[1] Lane, Arthur. Later Islamic Pottery. London: Faber and Faber, 1957, p. 62.