In Ottoman Damascus, ornate tile panels were common decorations, set into the walls of mosques, shrines and other buildings. Many were taken & are now in museums.
A thread on beautiful 17th century fritware tile panels from Damascus, Syria, found in museums across the world...
1/ Tile panel Circa 1550 CE - Circa 1699 1699 CE, Ottoman, Damascus, Syria
Similar is in situ in the shrine of Muhly al-Din Ibn al Arabi in the Salahieh quarter of Damascus, built in 1518 by Sultan Selim I and restored in the 18th century
It is so similar in technique, composition, & style to one signed by Ghaibi & still extant in the funerary complex of Ghars al‑Din al‑Tawrizi (d. 1430) in Damascus that it probably came from that building
Leighton House Museum, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. @LeightonHouse_
9/ Tile panel Circa 1550 CE - Circa 1699 1699 CE, Ottoman, Damascus, Syria.
This panel of tiles has religious subject matter: the Arabic inscriptions name Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, and the four caliphs of the Sunni tradition.
10/ Three tile panel, 17th century, Damascus, Syria
The same cartoon or stencil are found in the Salimiye madrasa in Damascus dating from 1566. In the 16th century, Damascus became an important Ottoman provincial capital.
11/ Tile panel Circa 1550 CE - Circa 1699 1699 CE, Ottoman, Damascus Syria
Inscribed with the name 'Ali. Panel represents the interior of a mosque & is inscribed with the names of Allah, Muhammad & the caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman & Ali
13/ Eighteen tile panel, 17th century, Damascus, Syria
Panel of 18 tiles belongs to a group of architectural elements known as mihrab panels. This was placed in religious buildings, mostly in mosques, where it indicated the direction of prayer on the qibla wall
Mina’i ceramics were made in Iran during the 12th & 13th centuries. Mina’i ware scenes depict courtly pursuits such as feasting, fighting, or poetry & music performances.
Many Mina’i ceramics were taken & put in museums across the world.
A thread on Mina’i ceramics in museums…
Mina’i bowl, late 12th-early 13th century Iran, Kashan
It can be imagined that the performer here, is delivering the verses inscribed along the rim of the bowl: "If the beloved leaves me, what am I to do? If s/he does not see the wisdom of our union, what am I to do?"
Mina’i bowl, late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq), Iran.
The ruler and courtiers depicted in this scene all wear costumes with embroidered tiraz armbands of the type traditionally given by Muslim rulers as honorific gifts to their subjects.
İznik is a town in northwestern Turkey, renowned for its Ottoman-era hand painted ceramics & tiles.
İznik tiles decorated walls of shrines, mosques & palaces. Many were taken & put in museums & private collections across the globe.
A thread on exquisite İznik tiles in museums…
Two Iznik Tiles with Continuous Floral Pattern
Ottoman dynasty (1299–1923), c.1560
Pattern is typical of the ‘saz style’ a term that derives from the words saz kalem, or “reed pen.” The style developed in album drawings in black ink during second half of 16thc.
Most ancient Qur’an manuscripts are now fragments scattered around the world in museums, libraries & collections
Kufic script is one of the oldest forms of Arabic calligraphy, & was used as a preferred script for the Qur’an, many fragments are found in global museums
A thread…
Folio from the "Tashkent Qur'an"
late 8th–early 9th century
Magnificent in size, this folio comes from one of the oldest surviving Qur'an manuscripts in existence. It is written in an early version of the kufic script with no diacritical marks to distinguish the letters
2. Eight-pointed Star-Shaped Tile, second half 13th–14th century, Iran
decorated using a method called lajvardina, a term that references lapis lazuli, & would have been part of a star-and-cross panel adorning the walls of an Ilkhanid palace, mosque, or mausoleum.
The Ottoman court became invested in writing its own history.
The court historian (şehnameci), a new position established in the 1550s, set to work producing manuscripts with illustrations.
Sultan Murad III (r. 1574-1595) in his Library @harvartmuseums
Safavid…
The best artists from across the empire were brought together & under the direction of Bihzad, the famed miniaturist from Herat, and formed a new Safavid style of painting.