Drama from the kilns of Turkey

Named after the town in northwestern Turkey in which they were made, Iznik tiles and wares are among the most faithful mirrors of Ottoman artistic style in the 15th and 16th centuries. The relationship between kiln and court was a close one, which University of Massachusetts professor Walter B. Denny renders in dramatic form.

He traces the ceramics’ cobalt-and-white beginnings to the apex of their creation in the 16th century, when red, green, turquoise and pale lavender were incorporated into designs that still adorn important Turkish monuments. By the later 17th century, fires, malaria and lead poisoning had taken their toll on artisans, along with the financial ills of the empire, and tile production ceased.

The photographs alone are enough to seduce. Extreme close-ups that can cover two pages offer a high drama of their own.

The book also includes a mysterious footnote: Some of the reputedly best Iznik ceramics in the second half of the 16th century have never been found, despite archeological efforts.

Alexandria Abramian-Mott