OTTOMAN TURKEY, CIRCA 1575

Tiles of similar design which also have the bevelled edge are found in the Has Oda of Sultan Murad III (r.1578-9) in the Topkapi Saray which has a domed antechamber dating to 1578 (J.M. Rogers (ed.), The Topkapi Saray Museum, Architecture, Boston, 1988, pl.64). In 1665 the Harem of the Topkapi Sarayi suffered a devastating fire which may be why so many tiles of this design are found in museum collections. Twenty tiles of similar design are in the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon (Türkische Kunst und Kultur aus osmanischer Zeit, exhibition catalogue, Frankfurt, 1985, vol.2, no, p.176). Another tile of this design is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, bequest of Edwin Binney 3rd, while another is in the David Collection, Copenhagen (inv.no. 45 / 1966). Another similar tile although without the bevelled edge, recently sold in these Rooms, 25 April 2024, lot 141.