Lot Essay
The precise attribution of similar blue and white hexagonal tiles has been surveyed on a number of occasions. John Carswell examined the known examples, citing that the largest groups were preserved in situ in two fifteenth century structures - one in the mosque of Murad II in Edirne, built in 1435-36 and the other in the mosque of Ghars al-Din al-Khalil al-Tawrizi in Damascus (d. 1430), begun in 1423 (John Carswell, 'Six Tiles', in Richard Ettinghausen (ed.), Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1972, p.99). Aside from these there are significant groups in the Islamic Museum in Cairo, the Kataeesh mosque in Sidon, the tomb of Çem in the Muradiye royal cemetery in Bursa, the Kaylani mosque in Hama, and the Victoria and Albert Museum (413-1898; 423-1898; 108-1881 and 109-1881 among others). His analysis defined three main groups - those from Turkey, which are stylistically quite distinct, and those from Syria and Egypt, between which there are a number of overlaps. By the 1980s however the pendulum was beginning to swing back towards Syria for the majority of the group, when a number were exhibited in America mostly because of clear Syrian provenance (Esin Atil, Renaissance of Islam. Art of the Mamluks, exhibition catalogue, Washington D.C., 1981, pp.176-182). The tiles reflect the impact of Chinese ceramics, particularly the blue and white colour scheme that reflects the ceramics of the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
This exquisitely painted tile stands out amongst the production of Damascus pottery in the 15th century. The drawing of the exuberant flower heads is supple, freely executed yet filling the strict hexagonal frame without appearing constricted by it. It is designed to be set on its point such as two hexagonal tiles in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which display similar features but fail to achieve such vibrant rendition of life (inv.no.67.69.5 and inv.no.67.69.6). A tile in the Victoria and Albert Museum the closest comparable example to ours with three fern-like branches filling the hexagonal space. It is attributed to Damascus, circa 1420-50 (inv.no.108-1881).
This exquisitely painted tile stands out amongst the production of Damascus pottery in the 15th century. The drawing of the exuberant flower heads is supple, freely executed yet filling the strict hexagonal frame without appearing constricted by it. It is designed to be set on its point such as two hexagonal tiles in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which display similar features but fail to achieve such vibrant rendition of life (inv.no.67.69.5 and inv.no.67.69.6). A tile in the Victoria and Albert Museum the closest comparable example to ours with three fern-like branches filling the hexagonal space. It is attributed to Damascus, circa 1420-50 (inv.no.108-1881).