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A dish seen from above decorated with blue grapes and vines.

A white plate with several concentric circular rows of blue decorations. The outer rim consists of one narrow row with partial view of grape clusters and leaf designs. The next row has a repeating pattern of bouquets of flowers and leaves. The center of the plate is decorated with clusters of grapes and some leaves and curling vines trailing off of them. The decorations are light blue and teal with dark blue borders, on a white background.

Gallery Text

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, three imperial powers dominated the Islamic world—the Ottomans, the Safavids, and the Mughals. Militarily, the Ottomans were the most formidable, and their realm was the most extensive. With the capital in Istanbul, the empire spread at its height to Africa, Europe, and Asia. Despite the empire’s diversity, the Ottomans developed a remarkably unified artistic idiom. The court established a design studio whose models were disseminated to court workshops specializing in particular media. Two artists who directed the design studio during the sixteenth century—Shahquli and Kara Memi—created distinct styles that defined Ottoman visual art for centuries.

Working with court designs, ceramic artists in Istanbul and Iznik experimented with an increasing range of colors from the late fifteenth through the sixteenth century. The taste for the blue-and-white palette of Chinese porcelain expanded to include turquoise, then purple and sage green, and ultimately the famous bright red and emerald green. In the sixteenth century Ottoman rulers preferred Chinese porcelain for their tableware, though the wealthy favored Iznik ceramics, which were also exported in great quantities to Europe.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1985.314
Title
Dish with foliate rim and grape cluster design
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Plate, in Chinese style, with grape cluster
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
c. 1525-1550
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey), Iznik
Period
Ottoman period
Culture
Ottoman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/215568

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
Underglaze painted fritware
Technique
Underglazed, painted
Dimensions
7.5 x 44 cm (2 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Edwin Binney, 3rd, (by 1985), bequest; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1985.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard Art Museums
Accession Year
1985
Object Number
1985.314
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This large Ottoman Iznik dish testifies to the influence of Chinese porcelains on Ottoman pottery. Chinese wares reached Ottoman lands from the early fifteenth-century onwards through trade, gift exchange, and booty. Here, while the common design of three bunches of grapes and vine leaves and the foliated rim of the dish remain true to Chinese models, the loose and spontaneous arrangement of the motifs clearly differentiates it from its prototypes. The intermixing of the early fifteenth-century Ming-dynasty (1368-1644) grape motif and the Yuan-dynasty (1279-1368) wave-and-rock border pattern, as well as the addition of turquoise to the traditional blue-and-white color palette, also attest to the artistic license used by Iznik artisans. Still, Iznik blue-and-white ceramic wares could not aspire to the quality of their porcelain counterparts. While dishes such as this one were most likely used for eating and serving food in the daily lives of the wealthy, Chinese porcelains were the sultan’s wares of choice at the Ottoman court.

Publication History

  • Edwin Binney III, Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd, exh. cat., Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, 1979), page 208/figure 4
  • Emily Van Hazinga, Ottoman art collection sumptuous, Fitchberg Sentinel-Enterprise (May 22, 1987)

Exhibition History

  • Recent Acquisitions , Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/15/1986 - 01/04/1987
  • The Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/16/1987 - 08/02/1987
  • Eyes to the East: Indian, Persian, and Turkish Art Given by Harvard Graduates, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/22/1990 - 11/25/1990
  • Woven, Hammered, and Thrown: Textiles and Objects from the Islamic World, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/22/1991 - 08/18/1991
  • Transformations: Asia East and West, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 12/19/1992 - 02/14/1993
  • Pattern and Purpose. Decorative Arts of Islam., Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/19/1994 - 07/03/1994
  • A Grand Legacy: Arts of the Ottoman Empire, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/09/1999 - 01/02/2000
  • 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
  • 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be 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