Islamic Tiles – Part 1

This past week I went on a pretty heavy floral-motif Islamic tile binge looking for source material for some thesis-related ideas. This post is limited to blue and white designs.

Panel of hexagonal tiles, stone-paste, pained in underglaze blue. Egypt or Syria, first half of 15th-century. The designs combine Chinese-inspired foliate with more Islamic motifs, such as the geometric designs of the lower tiles.

Example of underglaze painting developed after the discovery of frit in the twelfth century, where colors were painted directly onto the surface and covered with transparent glaze

Istanbul, first half of the 16th century

Hexagonal tile, stone-paste, painted in underglaze blue and turquoise. Iznik 1540-50.

Rectangular tile, stone-paste, with underglaze-painted stenciled designs in blue and turquoise. Iznik, first half of the 16th century. Chinese influences can be seen in the lotus flowers which are mized with Islamic arabesques.

A hexagonal Iznik tile painted in cobalt blue and turquoise  with interlacing palmettes and floral motifs, 1525-30

Simple symmetrical tile motif

Example of fifteenth century Syrian and Egyptian tile, with heavy influence from the Chinese porcelain of the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

Mid-eventeenth century Iznik  tile

William DeMorgan tile combining Persian, Gothic, and Arts and Crafts elements.

Detail from a panel of De Morgan tiles designed by Halsey Ricardo in the entrance of 8 Addison Road, London, build for Sir Ernest Debenham in 1904. The design and color scheme are inspired by Ottoman pottery. This was one of the final commissions of the De Morgan factory before its close in 1911.

Images via “Islamic Tiles” by Venetia Porter,  “Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World” by Venetia Porter and Mariam Rosser-Owen, and “1000 Tiles” by Gordon Lang