Tankard (Hanap) with Tulips, Hyacinths, Roses, and Carnations
Islamic (Iznik)
Ottoman dynasty (1299–1923), Late 16th century
- Medium
- Iznik ware, fritware with underglaze painting in blue, turquoise, red, and black
- Classification
- Ceramics
- Dimensions
- 19.6 × 15 × 10.5 cm (7 3/4 × 5 7/8 × 4 1/8 in.)
- Culture
- Turkey
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Asia
- Credit line
- Mary Jane Gunsaulus Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This cylindrical tankard (hanap) is a fine example of the ceramics produced at Iznik (located southeast of Istanbul) during the late sixteenth century. Characterized by its white body fabric, brilliant transparent glaze, and distinct decoration, Iznik pottery represents one of the most technologically refined and aesthetically arresting traditions in the history of Islamic ceramics. Here the decoration consists of a motif of hyacinths and carnations, underscored with blue tulips and red roses. The artist fully realized the rhythmic potential of alternating floral forms, exploiting the tankard’s tall, cylindrical surface to create a feeling of motion. Though the Iznik tradition seems to have been intially inspired by imported Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, by the 1550s, Iznik pottery had been transformed. Working in collaboration with the imperial Ottoman atelier in Istanbul (nakkash-hane), Iznik potters helped to create a style that epitomized an empire and was eventually sought after far from Istanbul. The tulip and carnation motif was particularly popular and appears on book bindings, paper borders, and textiles made for the Ottoman court. The craze for tulips was not…
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
