It had already been a long day, but we made one last stop on our way home just to admire the collection of brightly decorated 16th century Iznic ceramics at the Musée National de la Renaissance in the Château d'Ecouen. Created and produced at the demand of the Turkish sultan Soliman le Magnifique for his palace, the ceramics' motifs reflect Byzantine, Near and Middle Eastern and Chinese influences. All by way of the Silk Road--la Route de la Soie. Rapidly exported, the ceramics were highly prized by European royalty.
During the 19th century a French consul in Rhodes amassed this treasure trove of almost 450 pieces, which today is the most important collection of Ottoman empire ceramics conserved in France.
les arts de la table: everything that has to do with the embellishment and decoration of tableware
Expression
Tous les maris contents danseraient sur le dos d'une assiette.
All of the happy husbands in the world could danse on the back of a single plate.
©2013 P.B. Lecron
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