These eight tiles form part of a tile panel. The design shows two repeats of a complex pattern. It combines an oversized arabesque in red, and fantastic blossoms formed from smaller flowers and leaves. One motif is superimposed on another, but there is no attempt to create an illusion of depth. Instead, the motifs are laid out over the flat surface of the tile.

The colour and the decoration here are characteristic of tiles made in Iznik, in north-west Anatolia. The Ottoman court renewed its patronage of Iznik ceramics during the construction of the Süleymaniye mosque in Istanbul in 1550 to 1557. The first Iznik tiles were produced, and potters added a bright red to the range of colours painted under the glaze. This was achieved with a slip made from a special clay. In the following decades, tiles of high quality were decorated in red, green and tones of blue on a white ground.