Page 239 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

Fig. 21. (above and left) Tile panels on the facade of the Sünnet Odasi in the
fourth courtyard of the Topkapi Palace, c. 1550
the second quarter of the sixteenth century, some of which
show narrative cycles, such as a snake attacking a bird or a
fleet of ships with sails billowing in the wind (see 176 and
177).
A piece of cardinal importance for the dating of blue-and-
turquoise ware is a mosque lamp in the British Museum (fig.
22) that bears an inscription around its foot stating that it
was made in 1549 in Iznik; it also gives the name of its
maker, Musli, and evokes the name of E§refzade, a local
saint. The decoration, painted in blue, turquoise, and black, is
highly conservative and relies on rumi scrolls and cloud
21
bands. Thin bands placed below the neck, however, contain

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