Faux Iznik : (Next...)

(...) I do not know what tortuous route this technique took, but there they certainly use a judicious mixture where quartz and glass dominate, and this is what gives the enamelled surface a sparkle and a depth that are quite different from that of the glaze on terracotta. So I designed some more or less stylized floral motifs which were still fresh from my meeting with the Izniks. The Indians immediately incorporated them, as they live in such close harmony with the plants and animals that they seem to thrive everywhere, sharing spaces with men in the street, painted or sculpted in every corner available. Here we have tiles painted by hand, with skilful strokes of a brush made of squirrel-tail hair, for the bathrooms of modern-day pashas.