| Date | Sultan | Name of Style & why | Dated vessels | Diagnostics | Other media/evidence | Tilework & Architecture | ||
| C15th | Mehmet
II "Fatih"
1444-5; 1451-81 |
Baba
Nakkash (court illuminator) Phase I |
none | white reserved on blue, elaborate arabesque scrolls, close fitting flawless glaze, large size c.45cm, plain rims (only 1 w foliate rim), cobalt is blackish blue in colour | metalwork (areas left blank = torus mouldings); Chinese porcelains; new era of court patronage eg. Ushak carpets | Masters of Tabriz in Bursa & Edirne (till c.1450); tile- makers from Khurasan work on Çinili Kiosk, in Istanbul (1472) | ||
| 1480-1500 | Bayezid
II 1481-1512 Revolt of Gem (d. 1499) |
Baba
Nakkash Phase II Craftsmen more independent of Court |
none | more detailing in floral motifs; contrasts areas of blue against areas of white; cartouches instead of scrolls; new motifs = knots & cloud-bands (Chinese); new shapes = pen-boxes, huge footed basins, mosque lamps | influence of manuscript illumination & calligraphy esp. Shaykh Hamdullah | 1506-7 Shehzade Mehmed tomb in Bursa (son of Bayezid) has underglaze blue & white tiles | ||
| C16th | Selim
I, "the Grim" 1512-20 conquest of Tabriz, Damascus & Cairo; Istanbul enriched by booty & new influences whereas Chinese porcelain was rare at court before conquests |
Baba
Nakkash Phase III less obviously Court-derived |
1510 GODMAN EWER: spouted jug with
inscripn under foot commemorating Abraham of Kütahya; tilework 1513 Saraçhane excavations show Miletus ware made up to 1520s mosque lamps from Bayezid II’s tomb c.1512-5 |
more blue & white, less cobalt (expensive) & reserved decn takes time; reduced detailing (3D); small scale repeat motifs; smaller vessels; hastier draughts- manship; lighter blue; spiral motif at centre of rosettes | Shahkulu 1526 becomes head of nakkash-hane (until 1556) | increased
interest in tile programmes: i) 1513 tomb for Shehzade Ahmed, Bursa (Selim’s bro): monochrome hexag tiles, borders have rectang bl/wh u/glaze ii) 1513 tomb of Bayezid II; 9 lamps: 5 with large lotus blossoms, 4 with knots & cloud-scrolls |
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| 1520s | Süleyman
I "the Mag- nificent" 1520-1566 |
Period of Experimentation ("interim period") | 1529: flask (sürahi) in GODMAN collection; Armenian inscripn around neck & under foot saying it was ordered fr Kütahya for monastery of Ter Martiros in Ankara; 'tughrakes' dec, inspired from manuscript illumination of Sultan's tughra | introduction of turquoise; continuation of Baba Nakkash ware; strong Chinese influence, direct copies of porcelain; 'Golden Horn ware' (in tughrakes style); new shapes: eg. foliated rim (Chinese); tondino (maiolica); surahi (metal prototype); tankard derived from leather; dish w narrow flat rim & jug w globular body & straight neck (both metal protoypes) | tughra
from illuminated MSS (long continuous stems spiralling into concentric circles; sequence of rosette, comma–leaves to L & R, semi-circ device, rosette) |
Sünnet
Odasi 1527-8 no extant Ott. buildings with u/glaze tiles fr 1529-48 |
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| 1535-40 | Süleyman
I FLORAL STYLE Phase I |
Dish as a single field | conceptual breakthrough: ie. dish seen as blank sheet of paper; ignores shape of vessel, white as backdrop; increased size of motifs; prepares for virtuoso painting of later C16th | 1538 SINAN becomes Chief Architect; maintains cuerda seca tradn; tile programmes become integral to architecture | ||||
| 1545-50 | Süleyman
I FLORAL STYLE Phase II |
SAZ
leaf & Rosette style; intro of purple with black outline |
1549 Mosque lamp: dated, signed ‘nakkash Musli’, refers to local Sufi saint of Iznik (Eshrefzade Rumi) & lake of Iznik (only dish to give name of town); found in Dome of the Rock (part of Ottoman restoration); attribution of other objects to Musli workshop | purple with black outline; rotational movement of leaf vs static rosette; compositions exquisitely matched to shape & dimensions of dish (now c.36-7 cm); subtle uses of colour; v. few exist; annual presents to Sultan from artists (eg. Shahkulu gave Sulayman "a dish & 6 small dishes") | SAZ
('forest') associated with Shahkulu: originated in Iran;
C15th work from Herat & Tabriz with lions & bears
lurking in bushes & leaves; dragon textbooks used as practice for scribes; silk kaftans of prince Bayezid in black/cream; good quality graphic details so original patterns drawn by master artist? nümüne supplied by court (actual tiles or drawings or stencils) |
1543-4
mosque & tomb of Shehzade Mehmet, favourite son of Süleyman; Sinan is architect; first
TULIP; sparing use of purple; one of first buildings to
use saz style Ottoman refurbishment of Dome of the Rock, finished 1556; Süleymaniye in Damascus of 1554-5 |
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| Summary: first half C16th sees move from blue & white; lavish polychromy matched by exuberant floral style, though Ottoman potters still seeking changes; remember: SAZ = Shahkulu (1526-56) = Süleyman (1520-66) | ||||||||
| 1550-60 | Süleyman I NEW AESTHETIC intro of RED (from cuerda seca ?) KARA MEMI: succeeds Shahkulu as head of Court artists in 1557/8 |
total shift to underglaze in
architecture; Iznik industry moves to tiles; pottery
2ndary, shapes become standardised & simplified;
sizes diminish, ambitious shapes abandoned (eg. deep
footed basins) intro of RED mastery not immediate; tiles first then pottery Naturalistic Floral Style: "Quatre Fleurs" (tulip, carnation, rose, hyacinth) Symbolism: lale (tulip) wild flowers, ie. soul in search of the Divine; gül (rose) cultivated, ie. soul in state of grace; cypress tree = alif (thus Allah?) |
1557: mosque lamp from Süleymaniye; earliest dateable
object with RED; experiments w black colour; divided into
3 registers: i) inscripn; ii) & iii) same pattern but
no attempt at junction; designs relate to Ushak carpets
(bosses cf. ‘star’ Ushaks) diagnostic motifs allow dating of other objects: i) elab arabesque w split leaf ii) white roundels & palmettes w floral centres, black dots & feathery edges iii) large black palmette with straight feathery leaves & agrafe at base |
ornament not allowed to distract
from architectonic clarity of building Süleyman recognises buildings are expressions of imperial power Sinan directly in charge of ceramics & architectural industries Tile shapes standardised ie. 25 cm square allows for multi-unit compositions, & u/glaze allows draughtsmanship à great pictorial panels, monumental calligraphy PURPLE not well suited to tiles bcos not visible at distance, too thin & pale RED technical triumph: in thick solution, gives relief "budding flora" becomes "flowering branches": pottery has no problem of scale; vertical orientation of design, blooms to fit size of vessel, less time consuming planning popular motif is "prunus tree", derives via Iran from China = symbol of virginity (also pine & bamboo) |
MSS illumination: axial composns in
small panels or cartouches 1558 illustration of Arifi’s Süleyman-nameh: shift in patronage away from lyric poetry to history European herbals: reach new levels of accuracy in 1530s; 1560 Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq sends tulip bulb to Clusius at Leiden University à C17th European "tulipomania" |
Süleymaniye: begun 1550,
inaugurated 1557; marks TOTAL SHIFT TO UNDERGLAZE &
decisive shift in patronage 1551 mosque of Ibrahim Pasha: marks start of u/glaze square tiles & multi-unit composns mosque of Rüstem Pasha completed 1559; 'tile museum'; red & purple on great tree panel flanking main door; purple not effective so abandoned 1558 tomb of Hasseki Hürrem (wife of Süleyman) 1560 Ramazanoglu mosque in Adana, extensive tiling Symbolism of flowers appropriate for tombs & mosques: eg. 1573-4 tomb of Shehzade Mustafa in Bursa (bro of Selim II): inscripn reads ".... this garden, the image of Paradise, has been made agreeable. ...this tomb, Garden of roses, is that of Mustafa Sultan" |
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| 1560-66 | Süleyman (dies on campaign in Hungary) |
Group of tilemakers leaves
Iznik for Eastern Anatolia; work at Erzerum, then settle
in Diyarbakir (affects quantity & quality for Court) 1565 intro of Emerald Green though not used extensively till 1570s |
Ceramicists
pre-occupied with tile production Conservatism in pottery market; commissions according to client’s own tastes |
New emerald green used on portico panels of Süleyman’s tomb (in the Süleymaniye complex) | ||||
| 1566-80 | Selim II (1566-74) MATURITY |
major patron | more
freehand drawing; flowers have fullness of form eg. roses
in full bloom, plump tulips, langorous movement NEW shapes esp. flat dish w narrow rim, cf. maiolica borders: half rosettes, cabling, & guilloche NEW motifs: sickle- shaped SAZ leaf; scarlet ‘Turk’s Cap’ lily ; Saz leaf with tulip rib experiments with slipware come to popularity after 1575 no new techniques/colours/design innovations though increase in represent- ational trend, esp. animals, ships popular abstract designs are: fish-scale, çintamani, S-clouds |
Sinan at height of creative power; lull after Süleyman’s death BUT 1571-91 almost unbroken series of tile commissions; focused in placement & forceful in design: white ground & floral style (like an oasis) | ||||
| 1580-90 | Murad III (1574-95) Mother is Venetian |
major patron tho MSS rather than architecture: fewer tile commissions | 1585
Firman sent in April to Kadi at Iznik to ensure an order
for palace is completed & that arrange- ments made
for transport Firman in July complaining order not fulfilled & potters had been working for merchants (more profit- able!) |
} influenced by }Balkan Silver | DEARTH of
tiles in 1580s: re-use of tile panels from earlier
buildings 1588 Death of Sinan aged 97 |
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| 1590s-1600 | DECLINE | reduction in quality
reflects reduction in interest from Court increased eclecticism, reflects demand of clients; decreased compositional cohesion lots of mosque lamps, incl. Hebrew (ie. non-Muslim clients) |
2 major
commissions in ‘90s (both disappeared): i) Inçili Kiosk, 1590-91 ii) Yali Kiosk, 1592-3 |
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| C17th | Sultan Ahmet I (1603-17) is next major patron of architecture | (in 1648, Evliya Çelebi says there are only 9 workshops at Iznik, compared to 300 under Ahmet I) | 'Blue' Mosque completed 1617, 20,000 tiles ordered from Iznik | |||||
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