OTTOMAN TURKEY, CIRCA 1570

This masterfully painted tile is very similar to a tile in the Louvre (no. 3919/2287; Turks, exhibition catalogue, London, 2005, p. 348, ill. 328). It perfectly illustrates the new decorative style developed in the 1570s by the naqqashhane, the Imperial atelier in charge of elaborating new decorative designs. The feathery saz leaves stressed with black lines, spiralling and piercing one another are remarkably drawn. The palette of colour is generally sober although the famous Iznik bole-red of the leaf spine contrasts sharply with the soft sage green of the leaves itself.