Author
Unknown
Publication Date
1420
Publication Place
Damascus (made) -
Subject
Ceramics Tiles
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Conversion diameter: 19.7cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
504-1900
Record ID
504-1900
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1420
Notes
These Mamluk tiles reflect the growing impact of Chinese ceramics, most evident in the colour scheme which imitates Chinese blue-and-white ceramics of the Yuan and Ming dynasties. They were painted with cobalt blue on a white ground before being glazed; blue is a fugitive colour and runs in the firing process, smearing the design. A turquoise border was often added, placed just outside the black line border. Similar tiles survive in situ covering the walls in the mosque and tomb of the Mamluk dignitary Ghars al-Din Khalil al-Tawrizi (d. 1430) in Damascus, begun in 1423. Elsewhere they are found in the mosque of Murad II in Edirne, north-western Turkey, built in 1435-6. They are sometimes interspersed with plain turquoise tiles. The blue and white Syrian tiles are not slavish imitations of Chinese designs, but rather a unique hybrid of Islamic motifs incorporating swaying leaves or arabesques.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Fritware, underglaze painted in cobalt blue and turquoise Fritware Painting
Fiziksel açıklama
Tile, fritware, hexagonal, painted in underglaze blue and black with a hexafoil cartouche within which six stylized flowerheadsradiating from a rosette, the outer border with a turquoise ground
Üslup
Mamluk
