Plate

Plate

In its shape and decoration, this rimless, shallow plate reflects characteristics of Ottoman ceramic production from the renowned workshop at Iznik in northwestern Anatolia. Iznik ceramics generally display a white-gray stonepaste body elegantly painted in vibrant colors and depicting floral or vegetal motifs that are inspired by nature but presented in a stylized manner according with Ottoman taste.[1] A transparent glaze applied over the polychrome paint adds the surface sheen emblematic of Iznik ceramics. On the front of this plate, white, pale blue, and turquoise floral designs appear against a rich cobalt blue ground, while a cobalt blue floral scroll against a white ground decorates the back. Such a design is an inventive variation on the blue-and white ceramics initially produced by ceramists emulating Chinese porcelain. This example inverts the hierarchy of colors: the blue tones, and particularly the deep cobalt, predominate over the white ground.[2] Chinese porcelain was greatly admired by Islamic courts, which used it for ceremonial and festive occasions. The Ottoman sultans and ruling elite were notable collectors of these wares, which had a significant impact on the development of Iznik ceramics. While the Ottoman potters working in Iznik were unable to create porcelain, they drew upon Chinese examples to create their own distinct ceramic tradition based on Ottoman aesthetics. Here, the stylized flowers and feathery saz leaves and the tightly arranged motifs, progressing from symmetric to subtle rhythmic movement, are all reminiscent of the classical Ottoman style. Moore had a particular liking for this decorative repertory; saz leaves and poppylike flowers inspired several of his Tiffany silver creations.[3]

Deniz Beyazit in [Higgins Harvey 2021]

Footnotes:

1. Atasoy, Nurhan and Julian Raby. Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey. Edited by Yanni Petsopoulos. London: Alexandria Press, in association with Thames & Hudson, 1989.

2. Objects of this kind are sometimes called "Damascus ware"; see Denny, Walter. The Ceramics of the Mosque of Rustem Pasha and the Environment of Change. Outstanding Dissertations in the Fine Arts. New York: Garland Publishing, 1977, pp. 32–34, 130– 45; this plate is fig. 181. In an early inventory of the Moore collection, the plate is listed with no. 819 under "Damascus Pottery" (see "Complete List, E. C. Moore Collection, Belonging to the Dr. I. H. Hall Office," undated [1891–96], Edward C. Moore Collection files, Office of the Secretary Records, MMA Archives); it is one of the earliest Islamic works that Moore collected.

3. Comparable examples include a pair of Tiffany candlesticks, dated 1878 (2018.121a, b); see also a chamberstick from 1889, in the Brooklyn Museum (1994.17.1, cat. no. 29 in this volume). Flowers are applied as small decorations on the saz-leaves, like it was common in Ottoman textiles; see Walter B. Denny in Ekhtiar, Maryam, Priscilla Soucek, Sheila R. Canby, and Navina Najat Haidar, eds. Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2011, p. 325, no. 231.

Edward C. Moore (American), New York (until d. 1891; bequeathed to MMA)

The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Flowers and Leaves: The Ottoman Pottery of Iznik," September 25, 1991–November 15, 1992, no catalogue.

New York. Visual Arts Gallery. "Iznik, Legendary Ceramics from Turkey: an Art Reborn," January 15, 2005–February 26, 2005, p. 26.

Denny, Walter B. The Ceramics of the Mosque of Rustem Pasha and the Environment of Change. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1977. p. 270, ill. fig. 181 (b/w).

Hristoff, Peter. "An Art Reborn." In Iznik: Legendary Ceramics from Turkey. New York, NY: School of Visual Arts, 2004. p. 26, ill. (color).

Beyazit, Deniz. Collecting Inspiration : Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co., edited by Medill Higgins Harvey. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021. no. 129, p. 196, ill.