Dish

This dish, with its circular vine pattern of floral sprays and curls, presents a harmonious and symmetrical composition of blue and turquoise against a white ground, features typically associated with early Iznik production of thelate 9th and early 10th century AH/late 15th and early 16th century CE. Inspired by Chinese blue and white porcelain, Iznik potters developed a naturalistic floral repertoire that included tulips, carnations, roses, hyacinths and plum blossoms. Ceramics began to be produced in the Turkish town of Iznik in the late 9th century AH/late 15th century CE. By the mid-10th century AH/mid-16th century CE, in response to imperial Ottoman demands, Iznik potters were producing exceptionally high quality ceramics, such as this dish. Made from fritware, a stone paste combining quartz, clay and frit (ground glass), and decorated with underglaze painting, these new wares were very different from earlier examples produced in Turkey.