Tile
ca. 1550-1600 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Pairs of wavy lines and groups of three large dots represent the pelts of the striped tiger and spotted leopard. In the Islamic world, the designs acquired powerful associations. The Iranian hero Rustam, for example, is usually depicted wearing a tiger-skin coat.
By 1500, these designs were popular on Ottoman Turkish textiles, and were often combined. They soon appeared in other media, such as tilework.
The triple-dot design has been confused with the Buddhist 'precious jewel' motif (Sanskrit cintamani), which is sometimes shown in groups of three. But there is no connection.
By 1500, these designs were popular on Ottoman Turkish textiles, and were often combined. They soon appeared in other media, such as tilework.
The triple-dot design has been confused with the Buddhist 'precious jewel' motif (Sanskrit cintamani), which is sometimes shown in groups of three. But there is no connection.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 11 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Fritware painted under the glaze |
| Brief description | Panel of hexagonal tiles depicting ball-and-stripe motifs, Turkey or Syria, 1550-1600. |
| Physical description | Panel of hexagonal tiles, with turquoise glazing and patterning in black depicting the representation of tiger stripes, with three large dots in the centre and further smaller ones on the points of each tile. The patterning on these tiles derive from the representation of tiger stripes (as worn in a coat by Rustam, the Iranian hero) looking like cloud bands, together with large and small spots, indicating the conventional depiction of leopard skin, but in this case they are combined with the Chinese cloud-bands in a purely ornamental way. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label |
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| Summary | Pairs of wavy lines and groups of three large dots represent the pelts of the striped tiger and spotted leopard. In the Islamic world, the designs acquired powerful associations. The Iranian hero Rustam, for example, is usually depicted wearing a tiger-skin coat. By 1500, these designs were popular on Ottoman Turkish textiles, and were often combined. They soon appeared in other media, such as tilework. The triple-dot design has been confused with the Buddhist 'precious jewel' motif (Sanskrit cintamani), which is sometimes shown in groups of three. But there is no connection. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 908 to F-1894 and 894-1897 |
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| Record created | June 16, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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