Panel with a Vase of Flowers

A lush floral composition decorates the central area of this ceramic panel, bordered with a scrolled fringe. Various types of flowers spring from a vase decorated with interlaced rising and falling motifs that fill the entire space. Although some of them can be identified botanically—the iris, carnation, and Nigella damascena—others are more stylized and composite, and are purely decorative. The profusion of plants contrasts with the palette of colors, which is limited to just four shades: cobalt blue, almond green, eggplant purple, and turquoise blue. This wall decoration, created by a ceramics workshop in Damascus, Syria, which was then under Ottoman rule, forms a veritable tableau that invites contemplation.