Tile

Unknown artist

1560-1570

Fritware, underglaze-painted

Aga Khan Museum

A square fritware tile decorated with blue and white calligraphy and floral motifs. The calligraphy is in white against a vibrant blue background, interspersed with small black and white flowers and turquoise leaves. A square fritware tile decorated with blue and white calligraphy and floral motifs. The calligraphy is in white against a vibrant blue background, interspersed with small black and white flowers and turquoise leaves. The small city of Iznik near Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) produced ceramics and tiles with frit-based bodies. Iznik’s stature as a ceramics centre grew in international importance with the royal patronage of the Ottoman sultans. They commissioned many mosques with lavishly ornamented tiles produced either in the court atelier in Istanbul or in Iznik. Later, Iznik wares became more commercial with the intr