Polychrome Dish with Confronted Peacocks
Date16th - 17th century
PeriodOttoman
MediumStonepaste, polychrome pigments
DimensionsDiameter: 12 1/4 in. (31.1cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineDoris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art
Object number48.31
DescriptionThis Iznik ware dish is decorated with a design featuring two confronted peacocks against a bright, turquoise ground. The birds rest on a central flower-filled vase flanked on either side by flowering stems. The rim of the plate is embellished by a rock-and-wave pattern, a Chinese-inspired motif that is frequently featured in Iznik pottery. The reverse is adorned with alternating blue blossoms and turquoise tulips.The designs of Iznik ware were typically created by artists in the imperial court, called the nakkaşhane. These designs were disseminated throughout all forms of Ottoman arts, such as textiles, jewelry, book arts, and ceramics. Although this type of pottery was primarily produced in the town of Iznik in western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), workshops producing these brightly colored ceramics sprang up throughout the provinces of the vast Ottoman empire, including in Jerusalem,, Damascus (Syria) and Diyarbakir (Turkey).
On View
On viewCollections
16th - 17th century
c. 1580
19th century
