Tiles and vessels produced at Iznik during the 16th and 17th centuries are among the finest and most celebrated ceramics from the Middle East.
The careful undulating polychromatic forms, both vegetal and geometric, provide a stark contrast to the crisp white ground upon which they appear.
These types of tiles were used to ornate the mosques and palaces of the Ottoman sultans and members of the court. The brilliant decoration of the individual tiles is impressive, but as part of a frieze or series of tiles along the wall of a mosque, their effect is sumptuous and magical.
