Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Tile

ca. 1420-1450 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

These Mamluk tiles reflect the growing impact of Chinese ceramics, most evident in the colour scheme which imitates Chinese blue-and-white ceramics of the Yuan and Ming dynasties. They were painted with cobalt blue on a white ground before being glazed; blue is a fugitive colour and runs in the firing process, smearing the design. A turquoise border was often added, placed just outside the black line border.

Similar tiles survive in situ covering the walls in the mosque and tomb of the Mamluk dignitary Ghars al-Din Khalil al-Tawrizi (d. 1430) in Damascus, begun in 1423. Elsewhere they are found in the mosque of Murad II in Edirne, north-western Turkey, built in 1435-6. They are sometimes interspersed with plain turquoise tiles. The blue and white Syrian tiles are not slavish imitations of Chinese designs, but rather a unique hybrid of Islamic motifs incorporating swaying leaves or arabesques.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Fritware, underglaze painted in cobalt blue and turquoise, glazed
Brief description
Cer, Syria, Mamluk, Polychrome - Tile, fritware, hexagonal, painted in underglaze blue, black and turquoise; Damascus (Syria), ca. 1420-1450.
Physical description
Tile, fritware, hexagonal, painted in underglaze blue with a central flowerhead surronded by foliate scroll motifs, with manganese line bands and enclosed with a turquoise border.
Dimensions
  • Not measured length: 17.7cm
Style
Summary
These Mamluk tiles reflect the growing impact of Chinese ceramics, most evident in the colour scheme which imitates Chinese blue-and-white ceramics of the Yuan and Ming dynasties. They were painted with cobalt blue on a white ground before being glazed; blue is a fugitive colour and runs in the firing process, smearing the design. A turquoise border was often added, placed just outside the black line border.

Similar tiles survive in situ covering the walls in the mosque and tomb of the Mamluk dignitary Ghars al-Din Khalil al-Tawrizi (d. 1430) in Damascus, begun in 1423. Elsewhere they are found in the mosque of Murad II in Edirne, north-western Turkey, built in 1435-6. They are sometimes interspersed with plain turquoise tiles. The blue and white Syrian tiles are not slavish imitations of Chinese designs, but rather a unique hybrid of Islamic motifs incorporating swaying leaves or arabesques.
Bibliographic references
  • Lane, Arthur. A Guide to the Collection of Tiles. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1939, 2nd edition 1960. pl. 12.
  • Carswell, John. Six Tiles. In: Ettinghausen, R. (ed.): Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1972. pp.99-124.
Collection
Accession number
420-1898

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Record createdDecember 12, 2008
Record URL
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