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Lot Essay
This tile is inscribed amal Musa ibn Estafan fi madinat Halab sanat 1699'. The work of Musa, son of Stephen, in the town of Aleppo, 1699.
Two identical tiles are found in the Keir Collection (Oliver Watson, "Ceramics" in B.W. Robinson (ed.), Islamic Art in the Keir Collection, London, 1988, p. 278, C151a and b). Another is in the Hermitage Museum (Mikhail B. Pitrovsky and Anton D. Pritula, Beyond the Palace Walls: Islamic Art from the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 2006, p.118, pl.116).
Pitrovsky and Pritula write of certain similarities between the representation of 'St. George's Miracle' on this group of tiles and Greek icons, whilst also alluding to the fact that some details were borrowed from Cretan craftsmen - for example the shape of the saint's flying cloak, the horse's tail tied in a knot and the three dots on the dragon's body. Other elements however, such as the Princess's figure with her raised arms, seem to be original to this group. It has been suggested that the creation of these tiles occured when the Turkish authorities appointed two church hierarchs, Cyril (1672-1720) and Athanasius IV (1686-1724) to occupy the See simultaneously. It is unclear, however, which of these hierarchs was responsible for their order. Pitrovsky and Pritula refer to evidence suggesting that Patriarch Cyril, who resided in Aleppo at the time, ordered the creation of the tiles.
Two identical tiles are found in the Keir Collection (Oliver Watson, "Ceramics" in B.W. Robinson (ed.), Islamic Art in the Keir Collection, London, 1988, p. 278, C151a and b). Another is in the Hermitage Museum (Mikhail B. Pitrovsky and Anton D. Pritula, Beyond the Palace Walls: Islamic Art from the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 2006, p.118, pl.116).
Pitrovsky and Pritula write of certain similarities between the representation of 'St. George's Miracle' on this group of tiles and Greek icons, whilst also alluding to the fact that some details were borrowed from Cretan craftsmen - for example the shape of the saint's flying cloak, the horse's tail tied in a knot and the three dots on the dragon's body. Other elements however, such as the Princess's figure with her raised arms, seem to be original to this group. It has been suggested that the creation of these tiles occured when the Turkish authorities appointed two church hierarchs, Cyril (1672-1720) and Athanasius IV (1686-1724) to occupy the See simultaneously. It is unclear, however, which of these hierarchs was responsible for their order. Pitrovsky and Pritula refer to evidence suggesting that Patriarch Cyril, who resided in Aleppo at the time, ordered the creation of the tiles.