Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

At the peak of their power in the 1500s and 1600s, the Ottomans ruled over a vast empire that threatened both its European neighbours to the west and its Islamic rivals in the east.

From the late 1400s, the potters at Iznik in Ottoman Turkey had begun to develop a unique and refined kind of ceramics, which served both the court and the market. They employed a frit body rich in lead, and developed vibrant new colours. To the initial blue-and-white, they gradually added turquoise, green, purple and the distinctive bole-red, which remained in relief.

Bowl with central triangle and spiralling panels (EA1978.1680)   Jug with flowers against a fish-scale background (EAX.3272)   Dish with flower sprays (EAX.3277)

Dish with flower sprays and coat of arms (EAX.3268)   Jug with leaves and çintamani motif against a fish-scale background (EAX.3269)   Dish with hares, hounds, and a stag (EA1978.1420)

Dish with lion, unicorn, and stag (EA1978.1464)   Dish with grapes (EA1978.1480)   Dish with carnations and hyacinths (EAX.3275)

Dish with grapes (EA1978.1470)   Candlestick with tulip blossoms (EAX.3276)   Dish with roses and tulips (EA1978.1423)

Dish with tulips and hyacinths (EA1978.1478)   Dish with a European ship (EA1978.1457)   Dish with roses and tulips (EAX.3273)