Dish with Saz Spray Decoration
1540-1550
Description
The design of this dish incorporates two ingeniously painted floral sprays. Laden with blossoms, the longer stem rises up the middle, angles sharply downward, and then encircles the dish, intersecting the shorter stem. Such meticulously drawn intertwining branches with serrated leaves are characteristic of the ink drawings attributed to Shahquli, an émigré artist from Iran who headed the Ottoman court studio from 1540s to 1556. This studio supplied designs that were then executed in various media. Working with court designs, ceramic artists in Istanbul and Iznik experimented with an increasing range of colors. An expansion from a simpler palette of blue and turquoise, the four colors used on this dish were further enriched with red and emerald green after the 1550s. Its complex design and painting technique, especially the tonal rendering of the purple, distinguish this dish from all other Ottoman ceramics that use this palette, indicating an exceptional undertaking.
Dimensions
Diam. 27.5 cm (10 13/16 in.)
Provenance
Frederick Anthony White, London (possibly 1902-1925), sold; [through Christies, London, 15 December 1925, no. 43], to; E. L. Paget, London (1925-1949), sold; [through Sotheby & Co., London, 11 October, 1949, no. 57]. Fernand Adda, Egypt, Paris, and Rome (by 1959-1967), sold; [through Cyril Humphris, London, 1-18 June 1967, no. 3]; to Stuart Cary Welch Jr., Warner, New Hampshire (1969-2008), by inheritance; to Edith I. Welch, Warner, New Hampshire (2008-2011), gift; to Harvard Art Museums. Notes: Frederick Anthony White (1842-1933); his sticker is found on the underside of the dish. Fernand Adda (1890-1965), Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, Paris, and Rome
Related Artworks
View MoreYaozhou ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze over molded decoration, the exterior with carved vertical lines suggesting petals. From the Yaozhou kilns near Tongchuan, Shaanxi province.
12th-13th centuryChineseLeaded bronze
1st-2nd century CERomanGreen glass
3rd-4th century CEMeroiticSilver
19th centuryBritishTerracotta, black ware
3rd millennium BCEAnatolianYaozhou ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze over carved and incised decoration. From the Yaozhou kilns at Tongchuan, Shaanxi province.
12th centuryChineseNorthern black ware of Cizhou type: light gray stoneware with dark brown glaze, the markings in overglaze iron oxide, the lower portion dressed with dark brown slip
12th centuryChineseYaozhou ware: molded light gray stoneware with celadon glaze. From the Yaozhou kilns at Tongchuan, Shaanxi province.
12th-13th centuryChineseAlabaster
EgyptianTerracotta, white ground
6th century BCEGreekTerracotta
GreekYue ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze, the upper portion splashed with iron-brown slip on the dished mouth. Probably from the Yue kilns near Shaoxing, Zhejian province
4th century CEChinese