Curator

  • Art Institute Chicago
  • Harvard art museum
  • My Exhibition
Octagonal tile panel with split-palmettes, compound flowers, and leaves

Octagonal tile panel with split-palmettes, compound flowers, and leaves

Ottoman

This very large tile shows certain modifications in color which suggest a date around 1600. The tomato red is darker, and the dark blue drawing in the leaves begins to predominate over the areas of light blue glaze. Lines, rather than masses of color, delineate the various forms. This tile was probably not a wall ornament, it's shape prohibited its use with similar tiles in a continuous pattern, while the border emphasizes the individual tile. It may have formed part of a table ornament of some sort, or indeed may have constituted the top of a small table.

Underglaze painted composite body

Ottoman period

Architectural Elements