Page 280 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

dows, or niches, as represented in contemporary manuscripts projects a sense of vitality and endless springtime. A pair of
(see 28a). Their triangular shapes with articulated inner sides spandrels with a tighter and more static composition employ-
resemble the corner quadrants employed in bookbindings. ing similar blossoms with swirling petals is in the Victoria
One pair of these decorative architectural elements (208) is and Albert Museum; another pair with blue fruit-tree blos-
painted with three sprays that grow from the lobed edges and soms is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a second
extend toward the top, overlapping one another. The one identical pair is divided between the Çinili Kô§k and
springing from the lowest lobe bears a rose and a small cro- Kuwait." 0
cus that swings back toward the stem. Another grows from The majority of the tile panels produced during the second
the next lobe, sprouts several rosebuds and pods, and termi- half of the sixteenth century were constructed from a number
nates with a large blossom with swirling petals. The third, of square pieces, which were affixed to the walls next to one
which has at its base a beautifully drawn pair of twisted saz another and completed the design. Areas with specific shapes,
leaves, contains several stems that bear roses, rosebuds, cro- such as those around the mihrabs and over doors and win-
cuses, fruit tree flowers, and large blossoms with swirling pet- dows, required greater care in devising compositions that fit
als. Tiny cloud bands appear along the sides while rumis fill the requirements of the architects. The ingenuity of iznik pot-
the facing corners of the upper lobes. The spandrels are ters is observed in a series of lunettes with pointed arches
framed with blue lines, their edges painted green. thought to have come from a palace built next to the Mosque
The delicate interplay of twisting, turning, and overlapping of Piyale Pa§a constructed in 1573. m
stems with flowers of diverse types growing in opposite direc- These panels, decorated with identical saz scrolls and cloud
tions produces a fanciful and exhilarating composition that bands, are composed of sixteen tiles, one half of which are

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