Tile Set thumbnail 1
Tile Set thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 144, The Headley Trust Gallery

Tile Set

ca. 1560-1590 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In the Middle East, tilework was originally developed as a decorative cladding for brick structures. After 1400 its use spread to Turkey, where tiles were applied to stone buildings using mortar. The most accomplished type had colourful designs painted on a brilliant white ground. Tiles from the Turkish city of Iznik soon became very popular.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 4 parts.

  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
  • Tile
Materials and techniques
Fritware, polychrome underglaze painted, glazed
Brief description
Panel of four tiles of glazed grey fritware, painted in colours on a white slip, Iznik, Turkey, 1560-90.
Physical description
In the Middle East, tilework was originally developed as a decorative cladding for brick structures. After 1400 its use spread to Turkey, where tiles were applied to stone buildings using mortar. The most accomplished type had colourful designs painted on a brilliant white ground. Tiles from the Turkish city of Iznik soon became very popular.
Dimensions
  • Height: 49.5cm
  • Width: 51.0cm
Styles
Object history
Bought from the collection of Gaston de Saint-Maurice (1831-1905) in 1884. Saint-Maurice displayed his extensive art collection at the 1878 Paris exhibition, in a gallery entitled L'Egypte des Khalifes. This was part of an official sequence of displays celebrating the history of Egypt, presented by the Egyptian state at this international event. Saint-Maurice held a position at the Khedival court, and had lived in Cairo in 1868-1878. Following the exhibition, Saint-Maurice offered his collection for sale to the South Kensington Museum (today the V&A).
Associations
Collection
Accession number
988-1884

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdFebruary 2, 2004
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest