Dish, Iznik, Turkey, ca. 1550-1555. Fritware, polychrome underglaze painted, glazed. Diameter: 36.8 cm. Salting Bequest. Museum number: C.1982-1910 © V&A Images.
White dish with blue tulips and purplish carnations on spiky stems. Rim is slightly foliated.
Bibliographic References: Nurhan Atasoy and Julian Raby, Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey (London: Alexandria Press, 1989), fig. 369 (color).
After 1520, the potters of Iznik gradually expanded their range of colours. By 1550, they were using blue, turquoise, sage green, tones of mauve and purple, and a greenish black.These colours have been used to depict sprays of flowers that all rise from a small clump of leaves.