Iznik Pottery

イズニク陶器 / 15th–17th century / Style / Ceramic Styles

The pottery reached by the Ottoman kilns, setting brilliant blue and red on a white body. Tulips and carnations turn in spirals around the curve of the vessel, and on the wall tiles of a mosque geometry and plant ornament coexist on a single surface.

Iznik Pottery — Iznik dish, late 16th century, photo Faqscl — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Iznik dish, late 16th century, photo Faqscl — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Iznik Pottery — Dish with sailing ship motif, Iznik, c. 1600, Metropolitan Museum of Art — Wikimedia Commons / CC0
Dish with sailing ship motif, Iznik, c. 1600, Metropolitan Museum of Art — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 · CC0
Iznik Pottery — Iznik tiles in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, 16th century, photo Dosseman — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Iznik tiles in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, 16th century, photo Dosseman — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Visual cues

  • The brilliance of a white body under transparent glaze
  • Cobalt blue and a red that stands in relief
  • Spiralling plant ornament
  • A continuous composition turning around a curved surface

Best used for

  • Turning a pattern around a curved surface without a break
  • Getting density and brilliance from a limited palette

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Dictionary entry

Type
If you use lettering, run it as a band and give it the same rank as the ground pattern.
Composition
Pair a composition radiating from the center with a band at the rim.
Material
Transparent glaze over a white body, with the red raised to give relief.
Caution
Tiling the ornament flat loses the logic of the vessel. The handling of the curve and the rim is the pivot of the style.
Further study
The color of the red from Armenian bole / The control of design by the court workshop / Its influence on Delftware

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Browse all Ceramic Styles entries

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