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Lot Essay
The delicate floral sprays of this elegant dish betray the influence of the naturalistic designs favoured by Kara Memi, chief painter at the Ottoman court in the later part of the 16th century. Kara Memi was the main proponent of floral arrangements which were often described as 'blowing in the wind' for their sense of flow and movement. It was a style not confined to the decorative arts, but the potters of Iznik adapted to it with alacrity. The directionality and simplicity of the style allowed a ceramic painter a clear starting point, in the tufts of grass at the base of the design, and then he could fit stems and blooms across his canvas, filling in the interstices later. For a discussion on Kara Memi and his influence on Iznik pottery see Atasoy and Raby, 1989, pp.222-223. Similar dishes with symmetrical floral sprays, and a central palmette similar to ours are published by Atasoy and Raby, 1989, pp.246-247, nos.480, 482-83. They are all attributed to circa 1575-80.
A notable feature of our dish, found also on a small group of others, are the strong cusped palmettes on the rim which provide a bold contrast with the delicate floral sprays. The design was probably modelled on the lotus panels of Yuan blue-and-white ceramics, but only became integrated into the Iznik repertoire in the 1560s, unlike the 'wave-and-rock' design which was much earlier - in the 1530s. The design was used in a group of dishes described by Atasoy and Raby as having a 'kaleidoscope' effect, which are mostly executed in only blue and white and attributed to between 1570 and 1580. In these kaleidoscope dishes, the lotuses occasionally form a circle at the centre of the composition, but in our dish they are confined to the borders, similar to their use in the Chinese originals (for examples of kaleidoscope dishes with the lotuses at the centre of the composition see Atasoy and Raby, 1989, p.243, figs.463-464). Dishes that use the design as a border, as ours, include a rimless deep dish in the Victoria and Albert Museum dated to 1575 (inv.no.314-1967) and another of similar form and date in the Tevfik Kuyas Collection, Istanbul (Atasoy and Raby, 1989, nos.718 and 720).
A notable feature of our dish, found also on a small group of others, are the strong cusped palmettes on the rim which provide a bold contrast with the delicate floral sprays. The design was probably modelled on the lotus panels of Yuan blue-and-white ceramics, but only became integrated into the Iznik repertoire in the 1560s, unlike the 'wave-and-rock' design which was much earlier - in the 1530s. The design was used in a group of dishes described by Atasoy and Raby as having a 'kaleidoscope' effect, which are mostly executed in only blue and white and attributed to between 1570 and 1580. In these kaleidoscope dishes, the lotuses occasionally form a circle at the centre of the composition, but in our dish they are confined to the borders, similar to their use in the Chinese originals (for examples of kaleidoscope dishes with the lotuses at the centre of the composition see Atasoy and Raby, 1989, p.243, figs.463-464). Dishes that use the design as a border, as ours, include a rimless deep dish in the Victoria and Albert Museum dated to 1575 (inv.no.314-1967) and another of similar form and date in the Tevfik Kuyas Collection, Istanbul (Atasoy and Raby, 1989, nos.718 and 720).