Page 135 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

65. Jeweled jade cup, second half sixteenth century (Paris, Musée
du Louvre, M.R. 202)

with incised scrolls decorating the inner side; the outer side is
enameled and shows sprays of carnations, tulips, hyacinths,
and leaves rendered in blue, gold, yellow, and white. Enam-
eling also appears on the thin band around the rim of the lid,
which is decorated with gold and white strokes, and on the
lower edge of the foot, which has a pierced frieze of blue and
green tulips, framed by narrow gold bands incised with min- 66. Jeweled jade tankard with lid, second half sixteenth century (istanbul,
ute floral scrolls. Inside the foot ring is a gold-inlaid six- Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, 2/3832)
pointed star filled with floral motifs.
This jug displays several extraordinary features, the most
outstanding of which is enameling. This technique was rarely
used in the sixteenth century and its appearance on such dis- Jade was also fashioned into such pieces as cylindrical tan-
creet areas of the jug suggests that it had a limited appeal. A kards, a shape also used in metalwork and ceramics (see 53
second feature is the representation of naturalistic flowers, and 205). One such example (66), made of the palest green
which were unusual in metalwork and carved stones. The nephrite, has a lid with a high knob set with a large stone
pleasant surprises hidden in the neck and under the foot are and a handle with an articulated contour. The lid, body, and
also noteworthy, particularly the inscription on the filter, handle are decorated with the twisted wire scrolls bearing
which contains a Koranic verse related to pure and holy striated leaves and blossoms encrusted with gems set into
water in paradise. high collars, using the same technique described above. The
Scrolls composed of twisted wire and gem-encrusted blos- scrolls are organized into medallions defined by twisted wire:
soms with striated petals and leaves were the most common the lid has a large circular medallion encircled by a band, and
types of decoration applied to jade. Executed in relief, they the body contains upper and lower horizontal bands enclos-
coexisted with another technique in which the gold inlay was ing a wide central zone accentuated by three oval medallions.
embedded into the jade, lay flush with the surface, and al- A gold zigzag band encircles the rim.
most always represented rumi scrolls. This combination of The interior of the tankard is lined with gold sheet; gold
styles, also observed in bookbindings, appears on a small filigree panels decorated with rumi scrolls are affixed to the
dark-green jade cup (65). Its outer walls are decorated in re- underside of the lid and to the bottom of the body. The
lief with four oval medallions interspersed with half medal- stones include green emeralds and peridots, red rubies, and
lions placed on the rim, each containing blossoms set with lavender-colored gems, which appear to be amethysts. Many
rubies. The interstices are filled with the flat rumi scrolls. are left in their natural state; others, particularly the rubies in
A number of examples displaying these two techniques the centers of the medallions, are rose-cut, similar to those
49
were in the past identified erroneously as Indian. Their dec- found on the rock-crystal pen box (see 62). The only part of
oration is indigenous to the Ottoman world, popularly em- the object that employs the flat inlay technique is the high
ployed on diverse items produced for the court from the mid- knob on the lid, which is decorated with a vine bearing
sixteenth to the end of the seventeenth century. leaves, showing an abbreviated version of the rumi scroll.

134