Plate Depicting a Woman Playing Tambourine

Art Historical Context

This delicate stonepaste plate, dating to around 1600, exemplifies the refined ceramics of the Islamic world, likely from Persian or Ottoman workshops. Measuring just over 2 inches high with an 11-inch rim diameter it served both practical and decorative purposes in elite households. The medium—stonepaste body with polychrome paints fired under a transparent glaze—allowed artisans to achieve vibrant blues, reds, and golds with remarkable clarity and durability, a technique perfected in the Middle East since the period to mimic costly Chinese porcelain. At its center, a graceful woman dances w...