Bowl. Iznik, Turkey, ca. 1530. Fritware, underglaze painted in cobalt blue, glazed. Height: 20.5 cm, Diameter: 38.5 cm. Given by C. H. Campbell, Esq. Museum number: C.257-1921 © V&A Images.
The interior of the bowl is divided into a new compositional scheme of radiating arcades which have alternating blue and white grounds and which are filled with alternating axial and rotational designs. Palmettes with turquoise centres and diminutive serrated leaves are also painted. The outside of the basin is loosely painted with a sequence of large rosettes with indented contours and most noticeably dark blue detailing in the centre which resembles the spokes of a wheel. The same type of rosette can be seen in the white ground panels on the inside of the bowl.
Iznik pottery of Ottoman Turkey survives in such quantities, and is of such varied techniques and styles of painting that it has long been susceptible to stylistic division. The bright colours and lively designs are, in the context of ceramic development, an extraordinary creative innovation. Iznik pottery stands out in comparison to Miletus wares that proceeded it and Kutahya wares that followed.
Bibliographic References: Lane, Arthur. Later Islamic Pottery. London: Faber and Faber, 1957. 133p., ill. Page 48, plate 28B
Atasoy/Raby: Atasoy, Nurhan and Raby, Julian Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey. London: Alexandria Press, 1989, p. 106, ill. 130.
Watson, Oliver Ceramics from Islmaic Lands London: Thames & Hudson, 2004
Liefkes, Reino and Hilary Young (eds.) Masterpieces of World Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publishing, 2008, pp. 66-67.