Page 261 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

revolves in a counterclockwise direction, creating a circular
movement that accentuates the shape of the object. In the
center is a large compound hatayi surrounded by peonies and
other hatayis that sprout buds and feathery leaves, which
overlap, intersect, and pierce one another. Another large leaf
springs from the same source and twists over the scrolling
branch, sprouting sprays of tiny blossoms. The extraordinary
movement produced by the revolving branch, the feeling of
depth created by the overlapping of the elements, and the
painterly use of pigments with shaded and textured compo-
nents are rarely matched.
In contrast to the movement depicted on the interior, the
exterior shows a subdued and conservative design. A blue
chevron encircles the rim, while the cavetto contains bunches
of blue tulips alternating with turquoise and green blossoms.
Bunches of pointed tulips, which are almost a trademark of
this ware, were also used on blue-and-turquoise examples,
their first datable appearance being on the neck of the
mosque lamp made in 1549 for the Dome of the Rock.
The saz scroll employed on the plate could only have been
executed by a great draftsman and painter. The plate was
cherished through the centuries and has been repaired with
metal staples after having been broken into three pieces. The
design is compatible with those on the flyleaves of an album
compiled around 1560 and the two kemhas made into kaf-
tans for §ehzades Mustafa and Bayezid (see 116).
The same scroll appears on a blue-and-turquoise hexagonal
tile in the Victoria and Albert Museum 106 and two other simi-
lar fragments in Hamburg. 107 The most exuberant rendition of
this theme is found on the Sünnet Odasi tiles (see fig. 21). It
seems, therefore, that the ultimate manifestation of the saz
style in ceramics took place in the mid-sixteenth century and
was simultaneously rendered both in blue-and-turquoise and
four-color ware with purple. 183. Jar with saz scroll, mid-sixteenth century (London, The British
One of the rare jars employing these four colors is deco- Museum, 78 12-30 513)
rated with saz scrolls that encircle its neck and body (183).
The rim contains a band with a series of small roundels and
strokes, reminiscent of the wave pattern. The neck has a
scroll with six large hatayis surrounded by smaller blossoms
and feathery leaves that are linked together by small crescent- the leaves, blossoms, buds, and cloud collars. The sinuous
shaped cloud collars. The hatayis are almost in cross section: movement created by the long leaves that swoop and overlap
a ring of petals encloses three pods amid leaves. A chevron the other elements is similar to the compositions found in al-
band and a blue frieze composed of roundels join the neck to bum paintings. The revolving movement of the scrolls is op-
the shoulder. The body bears a larger version of the saz scroll, posed by the leaves, which create their own rhythm.
its hatayis sprouting several podlike buds. The band at the Another outstanding example of this ware is the famous
lower edge of the body contains a scroll with the same small plate in the Louvre (184), which presents the most innova-
blossoms used on the neck. A blue and white braid appears tive approach to pottery painting, totally disregarding the
around the foot. shape of the object and extending the composition beyond
Although the blue used on the jar is a deep cobalt, the the confines of its rim. It is almost as if the painter produced
other three pigments are pastel in tone, and include a pale a large painting, the center of which was cut out in a circular
greenish turquoise, a grayish green, and a pinkish mauve. format and transferred onto a plate with a lobed and everted
Blue and turquoise are applied to the blossoms, green is used rim. Painted in deep and pastel blues, bright turquoise, gray-
primarily on the leaves, and purple appears in the center of ish green, and pinkish mauve, the composition radiates from

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