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a tile decorated with dark and light blue floral and leaf designs.

A hexagonal tile which is covered with repeating light and dark blue designs. They start with a central triangular shape which trails out into other flowers and leaves which curl and bend over each other and lead over the way to the edges so that multiple tiles could come together and create the pattern over a larger surface area.

Gallery Text

The Ottoman dynasty established the largest Islamic empire of the early modern era. At the peak of their powers in the sixteenth century, the Ottomans built numerous large architectural projects, especially in the capital city of Istanbul. Many of the projects were designed by the renowned head architect Sinan. Ceramic tiles were part of his carefully planned interior and exterior decorations. Working with court-supplied designs, potters in the city of Iznik created some of the world’s best-known and most coveted ceramics.

Ottoman tiles of the early sixteenth century, such as the hexagonal examples here, are indebted to earlier Persian tiles in their colors and shapes. In the 1550s, Ottoman potters developed an underglaze emerald green and a bright red that yielded a powerful palette visible at a distance. These colors, along with the newly developed modular square tiles, worked well for decoration that covered great expanses of wall. Larger, single tiles were used to highlight architectural elements such as doors and windows.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1960.102
Title
Hexagonal tile with floral pattern
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Hexagonal tile with a radial pattern of stylized lotuses and small blossoms around a central medallion
Classification
Architectural Elements
Work Type
architectural element
Date
1520-1540
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey), Iznik
Period
Ottoman period
Culture
Ottoman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216298

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2550, Art from Islamic Lands, The Middle East and North Africa
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Fritware
Technique
Underglazed, painted
Dimensions
H: 25.5 x W: 22.5 x Depth: 2.5 cm (10 1/16 x 8 7/8 x 1 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
John Goelet, New York, NY, (by 1960), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1960.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Goelet
Accession Year
1960
Object Number
1960.102
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
In the 1540s the Iznik factories were still producing hexagonal revetment tiles, using the familiar dark blue and turquoise ornament on a white slip. This hexagonal tile, 8 1/2 inches across, shows a highly developed pattern, meant to be continuous with other tiles. By this time, the pattern of individual tiles tends to transcend the limitations of the single piece of ceramic. The pattern is sophisticated, symmetrical and finely drawn: the surface is flat.

Publication History

  • Walter B. Denny, The Ceramics of the Mosque of Rustem Pasha and the Environment of Change, Garland (New York, NY and London, England, 1977), pl. 146

Exhibition History

  • Islamic Art From the Collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 08/01/1974
  • Islamic Art: Drawings, Calligraphies and Objects, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 06/29/1983 - 09/25/1983
  • A Grand Legacy: Arts of the Ottoman Empire, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/09/1999 - 01/02/2000
  • The Enlightened Eye: Gifts from John Goelet, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/12/2000 - 05/07/2000
  • Overlapping Realms: Arts of the Islamic World and India, 900-1900, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 12/02/2006 - 03/23/2008
  • Re-View: Arts of India & the Islamic Lands, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/26/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu