The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Circular, white dish with a central image of three blue stems, each breaking off into two, green artichoke buds, the largest two in the center. The artichokes have are circular and made up of overlapping turquoise and green scale-like circles. Feather-shaped, serrated blue leaves arc over them. The rim of the plate is slightly raised and patterned with evenly spaced flower, berry, and intertwining leaf shapes.

Large Dish with Artichokes

c. 1535–40

Turkey, Iznik, Ottoman period

(1299–1922)
fritware with underglaze-painted design
Diameter: 36.4 cm (14 5/16 in.); Overall: 6.9 cm (2 11/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1995.17
Location: 116 Islamic

Did You Know?

The artichoke is actually the bud of a thistle—a flower.

Description

Ceramic vessels and tiles produced in Iznik, Turkey, for the Ottoman court in Istanbul represented the finest Islamic ceramics. Floral and vegetal motifs are a hallmark of Iznik pottery. The center of this dish is covered in a dynamic artichoke motif interwoven with rosettes and serrated saz leaves. The artichoke design was likely inspired by luxury Italian textiles imported into the Ottoman court. The dish represents a high point of Ottoman art during the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (1520–66) in which European, Persian, Chinese, and Egyptian influences contributed to a distinct artistic language.
  • Sulzbach
    Stora
    Scarisbrick
    ?-1995
    (Oliver Hoare Ltd., London, UK, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1995-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • McWilliams, Mary, “Ambitious Decoration” Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 36 no. 03, March 1996 Reproduced & mentioned: p. 4-5 archive.org
    Mackie, Louise W., "Luxury and Hierarchy", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 42 no. 01, January 2002 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 4-5 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 231
    Strong, Meghan E. “Art of the Islamic World.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 3 (Summer 2021): 28-30. Reproduced: P.. 30.
  • Art of the Islamic World (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 21, 2021-May 31, 2022).
  • {{cite web|title=Large Dish with Artichokes|url=false|author=|year=c. 1535–40|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.17