Tile
maker
Unknown
Dateabout 1575
Place MadeIznik, Western Turkey, Turkey, Middle East
MediumGlazed ceramic
Dimensions21.5 x 25 cm (8 7/16 x 9 13/16 in.)
ClassificationsArchitectural Elements
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberC7w3
eMuseum ID720298
EmbARK ObjectID11345
TMS Source ID572
Last Updated10/12/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThe Iznik tiles of the second half of the sixteenth century are justly famous for their bright tomato-red color, which together with black, blue, turquoise, and green were painted in underglaze colors on the flawless white ground. This tile is unusual in several respects: it uses black in large amounts, the most important elements of the field have been quartered in the corners of the tile, and no other tiles from this panel have yet come to light.
Source: Walter Denny (1975), "Tile," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 160.
Source: Walter Denny (1975), "Tile," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 160.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 52. (as "Rhodian," made in Nicea, Turkey, 16th century)
Walter B. Denny. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 9, no. 4 (26 Sep. 1965), p. 2. (as Turkish, Iznik or Nicea, late 16th century)
Walter B. Denny. "Some Islamic Objects in the Gardner Museum." Fenway Court (1971), pp. 8-11, fig. 5. (as Ottoman Turkish, 1580s; after the designs of a calligrapher at Istanbul)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 116-18, no. 54. (as Turkish (Iznik), last quarter of the 16th century)
Walter B. Denny. "Far Eastern and Islamic Art" in James Thomas Herbert Baily (ed.). The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" (London, 1978), pp. 78-80, figs. D, 6. (as Iznik, last quarter of the 16th century)
Walter B. Denny. "Turkish Tiles of the Ottoman Empire." Archaeology (1979), pp. 14-15, ill. (as Turkish, 1590)
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), pp. 204-05, ill. (as Turkish (Iznik), last quarter of the 16th century)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 160-61, ill. (as Turkish (Iznik), about 1575-1600)
Walter B. Denny. "Dispersed Ottoman Repeating-Pattern Iznik Tiles" in Anna Parzymies (ed.). Studies in Oriental Art and Culture in Honour of Professor Tadeusz Majda (Warsaw, 2006), pp. 169-71. (as probably Iznik, 1570s-80s)
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 23, 47, n37. (as Iznik)
Christie's. Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds (London, 13 April 2010), lot 231. (the same design as the item for sale; as Ottoman Turkey, about 1575)
Christina Nielsen et. al. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: A Guide (New Haven, 2017), p. 48.
Jessica Chloros, "A Rare and Unique Turkish Tile," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 3 May 2022, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/rare-and-unique-turkish-tile
Walter B. Denny. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 9, no. 4 (26 Sep. 1965), p. 2. (as Turkish, Iznik or Nicea, late 16th century)
Walter B. Denny. "Some Islamic Objects in the Gardner Museum." Fenway Court (1971), pp. 8-11, fig. 5. (as Ottoman Turkish, 1580s; after the designs of a calligrapher at Istanbul)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 116-18, no. 54. (as Turkish (Iznik), last quarter of the 16th century)
Walter B. Denny. "Far Eastern and Islamic Art" in James Thomas Herbert Baily (ed.). The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" (London, 1978), pp. 78-80, figs. D, 6. (as Iznik, last quarter of the 16th century)
Walter B. Denny. "Turkish Tiles of the Ottoman Empire." Archaeology (1979), pp. 14-15, ill. (as Turkish, 1590)
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), pp. 204-05, ill. (as Turkish (Iznik), last quarter of the 16th century)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 160-61, ill. (as Turkish (Iznik), about 1575-1600)
Walter B. Denny. "Dispersed Ottoman Repeating-Pattern Iznik Tiles" in Anna Parzymies (ed.). Studies in Oriental Art and Culture in Honour of Professor Tadeusz Majda (Warsaw, 2006), pp. 169-71. (as probably Iznik, 1570s-80s)
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 23, 47, n37. (as Iznik)
Christie's. Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds (London, 13 April 2010), lot 231. (the same design as the item for sale; as Ottoman Turkey, about 1575)
Christina Nielsen et. al. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: A Guide (New Haven, 2017), p. 48.
Jessica Chloros, "A Rare and Unique Turkish Tile," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 3 May 2022, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/rare-and-unique-turkish-tile
ProvenanceNotesCreated as part of a large set for an unknown mosque or palace.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art gallery Noyes & Blakeslee, Boston for $350 on 19 December 1885.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art gallery Noyes & Blakeslee, Boston for $350 on 19 December 1885.
Object/Provenance
