Handmade Turkish Blue and White Iznik Design Ceramic Vase HandPainted

An important cultural center during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent, the rural town of Iznik (ancient Nicea) nestles on a lakeside in Northwest Turkey. Here in the early 16th century an "Imperial ware," now called Iznik, was made for the Istanbul court of the Ottoman Sultan--the richest, most powerful monarch in Europe. Originally inspired by Chinese pottery, Imperial ware was so exquisite that European collectors in the mid 19th century thought it came from Persia. Only in the 1920s did scholars accept that Iznik ceramics were Ottoman, giving due recognition at last to Turkish potters for some of the world´s most beautiful and striking designs. Iznik ware has survived to the present day in all its splendor. Iznik tiles adorn palaces and mosques; the largest collection of ceramic vessels is in the British Museum.Classical iznik. 1550 design. Original plate is at Oxford University Museum. Vase comes in original padded case for storage.