Lot Essay
Around 1545 the Ottoman Sultan Sulaiman ordered the mosaic decoration on the exterior of the Dome of the Rock to be replaced by tilework. The technological and decorative repertoire of the tilework evolved in the course of the work and entailed several techniques, of which underglaze-blue was the final one.
The present tiles correspond in shape very closely to a number of published pieces (see: De Voguë, Comte M.: Le Temple de Jerusalem, Paris, 1864, pl. XXIX; Richmond, E.T.: The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Description of its structure and Decoration, London, 1924, fig. 30; Yenishehirlioglu, F.: 'Tile Samples from the Dome of the Rock and their 20th-Century Reproductions', Seventh International Congress of Turkish Art, Warsaw, 1990, pp. 267-280, fig.14; Sotheby's, Islamic Works of Art, London, 25th April, 1991, lot 934; idem. Islamic Works of Art, London, 21st October, 1993, lot 179). De Vogue classes these tiles as 'cloture de fenetre', and some of the illustrations in Richmond show their use in situ, set diagonally against each other, as they are now, but leaving out one in four (figs. 57, 58 right, 63, 64, 62, 61, 59) to enclose star-shaped open fields covering the whole of the window, or set with the points touching (figs. 58 left, 59 right) also leaving open star-shaped fields.
On all the previosly published tiles the pierced areas are outlined by black slip on the white ground. The glaze varies from green, through yellow to clear. In terms of technology and aesthetics the present lot presents a contrast. While the outlines are similarly slip-painted, underglaze blue has been used to create lobed cross-shapes or to indicate these shapes in reserve. The blue has been applied precisely and does not run. This is also the feature of other blue and white tiles from the Dome of the Rock dated to the 16th century which were used mainly to cover the porches (Sotheby's, Islamic Works of Art, 24th April, 1991, lot 933). Although no pierced blue and white window-tiles from the Dome of the Rock have been published, they have been noted in situ by scholars studying the monument.
The present tiles correspond in shape very closely to a number of published pieces (see: De Voguë, Comte M.: Le Temple de Jerusalem, Paris, 1864, pl. XXIX; Richmond, E.T.: The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Description of its structure and Decoration, London, 1924, fig. 30; Yenishehirlioglu, F.: 'Tile Samples from the Dome of the Rock and their 20th-Century Reproductions', Seventh International Congress of Turkish Art, Warsaw, 1990, pp. 267-280, fig.14; Sotheby's, Islamic Works of Art, London, 25th April, 1991, lot 934; idem. Islamic Works of Art, London, 21st October, 1993, lot 179). De Vogue classes these tiles as 'cloture de fenetre', and some of the illustrations in Richmond show their use in situ, set diagonally against each other, as they are now, but leaving out one in four (figs. 57, 58 right, 63, 64, 62, 61, 59) to enclose star-shaped open fields covering the whole of the window, or set with the points touching (figs. 58 left, 59 right) also leaving open star-shaped fields.
On all the previosly published tiles the pierced areas are outlined by black slip on the white ground. The glaze varies from green, through yellow to clear. In terms of technology and aesthetics the present lot presents a contrast. While the outlines are similarly slip-painted, underglaze blue has been used to create lobed cross-shapes or to indicate these shapes in reserve. The blue has been applied precisely and does not run. This is also the feature of other blue and white tiles from the Dome of the Rock dated to the 16th century which were used mainly to cover the porches (Sotheby's, Islamic Works of Art, 24th April, 1991, lot 933). Although no pierced blue and white window-tiles from the Dome of the Rock have been published, they have been noted in situ by scholars studying the monument.