VesselsOttoman16th century

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.

Classification

Vessels

Medium

Fritware with painting in blue, green, turquoise, and purple under clear glaze

Culture

Ottoman

Period

Ottoman period

Century

16th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

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