Page 136 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

67 (above). Jeweled jasper pen case, second half sixteenth century (Istanbul, 68 (below). Jeweled blue-and-white porcelain pen box, fifteenth-century
Topkapi Sarayi Miizesi, 2/2111) Chinese ware decorated second half sixteenth century (Istanbul, Topkapi
Sarayi Müzesi, 2/894)

Among the more unusual objects in the Hazine is a thin rendered in ruby-red enamel, holding an emerald.
and long pen case with rounded edges (67), made of a trans- This example is not only made out of an unusual material,
lucent pale green stone called balgami, which appears to be but also employs enameling and hatayi blossom mounts, in-
jasper (green chalcedony). The piece has a sliding lid set into dicating that several different styles of decoration coexisted in
a gold frame; inside is a cylindrical inkwell carved out of the the court studios.
same material and space for a few pens. The lid and the exte- Gold-inlaid and gem-encrusted pieces were so popular in
rior walls are embellished with gold scrolls that bear multi- the second half of the sixteenth century that the same tech-
petaled hatayi blossoms and buds rendered in profile with niques were applied to Chinese porcelain, particularly to se-
delicate, incised lines applied to their petals. Their centers are lect examples of Ming dynasty white or blue-and-white ware.
encrusted with natural emeralds and rubies set into high col- One of these pieces was a fifteenth-century blue-and-white
lars. The gold frame around the upper edge is incised with a pen box (68), its shape based on the rectangular Islamic ex-
series of diagonally placed leaves and strokes, creating a dou- amples with rounded edges.
ble zigzag pattern. The cap of the inkwell contains a blossom, The top of the lid and the sides of the base were originally

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