Sehzade Mustafa’s tomb contains several other members of the family, Ahmed (son of Bayezit II, died 1513) and Orhan (son of Sehzade Mustafa), as well as Mustafa’s mother Mahi Devran and a child. The Iznik tiles are of high quality.

On the picture: Amongst the motifs of these multi-color tiles one can recognise the tulip, the hyacinth and the carnation. The tiles are characteristic of the last high-quality production period in Iznik.

İznik work, named after the town (70 km northeast of Bursa) where it was made, is a decorated ceramic that was produced from the last quarter of the 15th century until the end of the 17th century. İznik town was an established centre for the production of simple earthenware pottery with an underglaze decoration when in the last quarter of the 15th century, craftsmen in the town began to manufacture high quality tiles and pottery with a fritware body (frit being added to clay to reduce its fusion temperature), painted with cobalt blue under a colourless lead glaze. The initial blue-and-white designs combined traditional Ottoman arabesque patterns with Chinese elements. During the 16th century the decoration gradually changed in style, becoming looser and more flowing. Additional colours were introduced. Initially turquoise was combined with the dark shade of cobalt blue and then the pastel shades of sage green and pale purple were added. Finally, in the middle of the 16th century, a very characteristic bole red replaced the purple and a bright emerald green replaced the sage green.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Sources: Website of ‘lifeinbursa.com’ & Wikipedia.