  About the Artwork
  
  
  At first glance, this dish might appear to be blue-and-white porcelain from Chine, but in fact, it was created by ceramic artists in Iznik, Turkey.

During the Ottoman period in Turkey, members of the royal court avidly collected Chinese ceramics, which they acquired through both trade and diplomacy. In the late 1400s, Iznik potters began to produce local versions of these luxury imports. To re-create the smooth, white appearance of porcelain, they used fritware - a mixture of clay, ground quartz, and ground glass - covered in white slip (liquid clay). Painting designs on the vessels before glazing and firing, they initially replicated floral patterns from Chinese examples in the royal collection, using cobalt blue - as seen in this dish. 

Valued for their artistic qualities and their functionality, Iznik wares were both commissioned by the Ottoman palace and produced for a broader market. The large size of this dish made it suitable for serving shared food at communcal meals.
  
  
  Title
  Dish
  
  
  Artwork Date
  late 15th - early 16th century
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Turkish
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Underglaze-painted fritware
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 16 inches (40.6 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Ceramics
  
  
  Department
  Islamic Art
  
  
  Credit
  Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  2006.58
  
  
  Copyright
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