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Dick Osseman | all galleries >> Galleries >> Iznik tiles and other pieces of Turkish earthenware > Istanbul june 2009 2437.jpg
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26-JUN-2009

Istanbul june 2009 2437.jpg

All these pictures are from the monumental grave chamber of Eyüp, which is covered with Iznik tiles of the best quality. The grave proper is in a room that one can look into through elaborate grating. In the room where the believers gather there is a showcase with what must be a footprint of the prophet, I distinctly think it used to be in the Topkapı museum. Here it is much more in its proper place.

On the picture: A large panel of Iznik tiles, with lots of flowers. (In fact, fragments of at least two different panels, put together during a restoration). One can easily recognize tulips, carnations, violets and arched flower branches. Other often used motifs are hyacinths, pomegranates, feather-shaped reed grass and leaves. In Ottoman culture (and more generally in Islamic art) flowers symbolize the Garden of Eden and Paradise.
These designs were drawn by the artists of the Topkapı Sarayı workshop and sent to the potters at Iznik for transfer to the tile panels and plates, which were not only used in the mosques and palaces of the Ottoman Empire, but were exported all over Europe.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: ‘Islamic Architecture: Ottoman Turkey’ (Godfrey Goodwin) – London 1977
& Website of ‘turkishculture.org’ .

Nikon D3
1/15s f/5.0 at 102.0mm iso2000 full exif

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