Iznik Pottery

The Turkish pottery at Iznik, ancient Nicaea, supplied the Ottoman court with luxurious vessels and splendid tiles to decorate newly founded palaces, mosques and other buildings. One of the great glories of Ottoman art at its peak period, the designs combine purely Turkish motifs with elements ingeniously transposed from imported Chinese blue and white porcelain. Over time, a subtle and complex palette was introduced, of cobalt blue, turquoise, olive green, magenta and grey. During the second half of the 16th century, the brilliant combination of blue, viridian, turquoise and a relief red resembling sealing-wax was introduced, not only for pottery by also for tiles such as the great series that line the interior of the mosque of Rustem Pasha, Grand Vizier of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, in Istanbul. Iznik pottery was much prized outside the Ottoman empire, and many examples have English and European 17th century silver-gilt mounts.