Master Art

The sloping cavetto of this Iznik dish is decorated with a pattern of breaking waves and spray, formed from black spirals, outlined in cobalt blue. The central medallion is decorated with a bouquet of 8 cobalt blue tulips and 4 red bole carnations, which grow from a tuft of blue grass. The outer two tulips are bound together by a lobed clasp motif, whilst another clasp encloses the viridian-green stems of the two largest tulips at the centre of the plate. Three small prunus blossoms, with cobalt blue petals and red pistils, are suspended above the tulips and carnations in the centre of the dish. A simple design of a blue sea shell and a flower alternate on the reverse of the dish.
A similar floating bouquet of prunus blossoms is seen in dish no. 11124 in the Benaki Museum, Athens, dating to c. 1580. For similar compositions and rims, see inv. no. 20, 11137, and 11139 in the same museum.