Dish, Iznik, Turkey, ca. 1540. Fritware, polychrome underglaze painted, glazed. Diameter: 31.7 cm, Height: 5.8 cm. Salting Bequest. Museum number: C.1985-1910 © V&A Images.

Shallow dish with bouquet of three hyacinths set in frame of flowering stems, the rim decorated with alternating crudely-drawn white and coloured flowers.

This dish has an appealing design of a bouquet of three hyacinths set in a frame of budding stems which suggest a heart-shape. The quality of the execution, particularly the hastily sketched flowers decorating the rim, suggests that this dish was made for the popular market rather than an upscale or royal patron.

After 1520, the potters of Iznik gradually expanded their range of colours. By 1550, they were using blue, turquoise, sage green, tones of mauve and purple, and a greenish black.These colours have been used to depict sprays of flowers that all rise from a small clump of leaves.