Page 240 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

sprays of spiked blue tulips, which were popularly used in complex indicate that the true red was perfected within a few
the group painted with pale green and purple. The lamp was years (figs. 23 and 24). The technique was fully exploited in
made for the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which was re- the Mosque of Ruslem Pa§a, built in 1561 (fig. 25). This
decorated by Süleyman in the mid-sixteenth century. The ex- structure is almost a pattern book of decorative themes and
terior of the structure was covered with tile-mosaic, cuerda includes every single design developed in the nakka^hane,
seca, and underglaze-painted panels; the inscription below displaying a lavish use of tiles that totally cover the interior of
the drum contains the date 1545/1546, while that on the this otherwise insignificant structure. 26 A more restrained
north porch gives the year 1551/1552. It has been suggested usage representing the fully established classical style is found
that the tiles were made on the premises; the mosque lamps, in the 1570s in the Sokollu Mehmed Pa§a Mosque in Istanbul
27
in contrast, were shipped to Jerusalem. 22 (fig. 26), Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, and the tiles commis-
Musli's lamp forms a link between the blue-and-turquoise sioned by Murad III for the hall leading to the baths in the
ware and the third type, in which black outlines frequently Harem of the Topkapi Palace (see 210).
define the motifs. Tiles produced in this type appear in the Tiles dating from the second half of the sixteenth century
Mosque of Hadim ibrahim Pa$a in Istanbul, built in 1551, reveal a harmonious collaboration between the architects,
and in the Yeni Kaplica Bath in Bursa, which was redecor- nakka§hane artists, and ceramists. The structures mentioned
23
ated by the grand vezir ibrahim Pa§a in 1552/1553. Four- above were created by Sinan, the imperial architect responsi-
color ware using pale green and purple appears to have flour- ble for scores of buildings in the capital and the provinces,
ished in the mid-sixteenth century, skillfully combining the who might have been responsible also for determining where
saz style with the naturalistic genre. the tiles were to be placed.
The majority of the pieces employing pale green and purple
are large bowls or plates; there are a few smaller bowls, jars,
and jugs. The decoration is almost always floral—stylized
and/or naturalistic—with rare examples showing birds or
busts. The latter appear in plates with wide flattened rims and
relatively deep central wells, using the tondino shape that was
popular in Italy in the first quarter of the sixteenth century.
One of these has the bust of a European youth in the center,
its rim decorated with sprays of tulips and triple balls; an-
other a woman with a headscarf, presumably representing an
Ottoman lady. 24 It should be mentioned that Ottoman figures
were also depicted in Italian ceramics, one of which, a Deruta
lusterware datable to 1520-1540, shows a turbaned man,
who may have been intended to represent Süleyman. 25
Each piece in this type was created as an individual work
by a master painter. The objects, which display exquisite
brushwork, subdued color schemes, and a refined sense of
aesthetics, constitute an aristocratic group of tznik pottery and
suggest exclusive patronage. Süleyman may have been one of
their most ardent supporters. This type ceased to be popular
after his death and was soon replaced with the ware deco-
rated with vivid blue, turquoise, emerald green, and thick
bright red.
The fourth and last group of iznik ware, which coexisted
with the third type in the mid-sixteenth century, displays the
epitome of the technical and aesthetic achievements 'of Otto-
man ceramics. The designs are remarkably varied and include
the full range of the decorative vocabulary of the age.
The earliest dated appearance of the celebrated Turkish red,
which was applied in relief, is in the Süleymaniye Mosque,
completed in 1557. Here it was used in selected areas, notice-
ably around the mihrab, and appears relatively subdued.
Panels with the same palette that decorate the porticoes of Fig. 22. Mosque lamp from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, made by
the mausoleums of Hürrem Sultan and Süleyman in the same Musli in iznik in 1549 (London, The British Museum, 87 5-16 1)

239