Page 245 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

165. Large bowl with reciprocal design (profile), first quarter sixteenth
century (Paris, Musée du Louvre, 7880-92)

tion could be the strong impact of nakka§hane illuminations, A representative example is the splendid bowl in the
3
which frequently included titles of books and chapter head- Louvre (165), which is 42.5 centimeters (16 /4 inches) in di-
ings. Inscriptions on the majority of blue-and-white objects ameter. The interior contains a central medallion decorated
have not been deciphered, since they were written without with radiating rumi and hatayi scrolls executed in reserve on
diacritics, leading to the assumption that they were purely a blue ground. Enclosing the medallion is an eight-pointed
decorative. It seems unlikely that meaningless decorative star; around the inner walls is a band composed of eight
scripts would have been tolerated in a society that valued cal- blue-ground arch-shaped elements that create a reciprocal
ligraphy as highly as the Ottomans. The content of these in- pattern with the voided white areas, which are embellished
scriptions awaits study and proper analysis. with large quatrefoils. Minute blue triple balls are sprinkled
Blue-and-white ceramics, which had a universal appeal on the white areas of the walls as well as in the star.
and were produced by many civilizations, were revived by The exterior is decorated with large volutes of connected
the potters of Kütahya in the eighteenth century, the shapes cloud bands placed over two scrolls, one bearing composite
and styles of their pieces reflecting contemporary traditions. 56 rumis, the other hatayis. Rendered on a blue ground, the
Among the most remarkable achievements of Iznik potters composition totally engulfs the walls, with its elements cut off
were large bowls, which were executed in blue-and-white, at the rim and base. The overall design with a marked hori-
blue-and-turquoise, as well as in four-color ware with green zontal movement on the exterior contrasts with the strong ra-
and purple until the mid-sixteenth century. No examples em- diating composition on the interior. The cylindrical and rela-
ploying the thick red are known to exist. Most of these bowls tively low foot contains a rumi scroll, painted in reserve
have the same dimensions and shape; some are slightly above a plain white band.
smaller and rest on a higher foot. More than twenty such The decoration used inside the bowl derives from manu-
pieces are known, one half of which belong to the first group script illuminations that contain radiating star-shaped central
of blue-and-whites. medallions and rectangular frames with reciprocal designs.

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