Blue and White Dish with a Lotus Bouquet

ca. 1570-1575

Chinese porcelain, which entered the Empire through trade or as diplomatic gifts, had a crucial influence on Ottoman ceramics in the 15th century. Dishes, bowls and jugs imported from China for the sultan’s table constituted models whose motifs, like the lotus here, were reinterpreted with greater or lesser freedom. This dish is an almost exact copy of a Chinese prototype, some examples of which are now in the Topkapi Palace. The decoration, painted in cobalt blue on a white slip under a transparent glaze, recalls the harmony of Chinese blue and white ware but lacks its texture and resonance.

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