Border Tile with Split-Palmette Design
Unknown Artist
ca. 1578
Medium
Stonepaste; polychrome painted under transparent glaze
Dimensions
H. 5 in. (12.7 cm) W. 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm) D. 5/8 in. (1.6 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Tiles
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1971
Accession Number
1971.235.2
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Border Tile Split-Palmette Design*, around 1578, exemplifies the pinnacle of Islamic ceramic artistry from the Ottoman Empire's Iznik workshops in Turkey. Measuring a modest 5 by 9½ inches, this thin stonepaste tile—fired clay mixed with quartz and glass frit for durability and a porcelain-like translucency—was polychrome painted under a transparent. This innovative technique allowed artisans to achieve brilliant blues, turquoise, reds, and greens that have endured for centuries without fading, making it ideal for architectural embellishment. The split-palmette motif, a styliz...