Dish with Bird, Rabbit, and Quadruped Design

Unknown

last quarter 16th century · Stonepaste; polychrome painted under transparent glaze · Islamic Art

The animals on this dish, some more recognizable than others, have an old iconographic tradition in Anatolia and can be related to figural Seljuq art. The central design is, in effect, a painted menagerie, an approach not often attempted by Iznik potters before around 1570. Another group of animals pursue one another on the rim of the dish. The bold effect of the bright green ground is heightened by the potter's decision to leave the cavetto blank, in essence providing breathing room for the composition.

Artist

Unknown

Date

last quarter 16th century

Medium

Stonepaste; polychrome painted under transparent glaze

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Purchase, Richard S. Perkins Gift and Louis E. and Theresa S. Seley Purchase Fund for Islamic Art, 1979