Tile with Cintamani Design

Border Tile with Cintamani Design

The abstract çintamani pattern, consisting of clustered roundels, often accompanied by wavy stripes, is one of the leitmotifs of Ottoman art. Derived from Sanskrit, the term denotes auspicious wish-granting jewels associated with Buddhist art. At the Ottoman court the motif came to evoke strength and power. It was particularly popular during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when it appeared across media, including in architectural decoration, textile design, and ceramics. The form of the pattern on this tile is rare: it is the sole motif, without a filling secondary pattern. The deep cobalt of the ground and the bright white with accents of green and red of the decoration reflect the vibrant color contrasts characteristic of Iznik ceramic production. The tile probably belonged to a çintamani border surrounding a large wall composition, such as at the Rüstem Pasha Mosque in Eminonu or the Chamber of the Sacred Mantle and the Library of Ahmed III in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

Deniz Beyazit in [MMA 2021]

Docteur Brunet, Paris (by 1960–d. 1992); by descent to his son(1992–2018; sold to Renard); [ Alexis Renard SARL, Paris, 2018–19; sold to MMA]

Shades, Lines, Colors and Letters. Paris: Alexis Renard SARL, 2019. no. 5, pp. 10–11, ill. fig. 5.

Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 2018–20. Part I Antiquity to the Late Eighteenth Century (2021). pp. 20–21, ill. p. 20.