Large Kutahya Eight-Pointed Star Tile

A large eight-pointed star tile in polychrome glazed ceramic, made at Kutahya in the mid-twentieth century. Kutahya succeeded Iznik as the principal center of Turkish ceramic production during the nineteenth century, where Armenian and Turkish potters alike produced decorative wares and architectural tiles in both revival and contemporary styles.

The classic star form is decorated with relief geometric and pseudo-calligraphic motifs in dark purplish-black over a greenish-turquoise glaze ground. A drilled hole at the center was likely intended for architectural mounting, and the reverse retains the impressed texture of the burlap support used during forming.

The glaze is uneven and the pigments bleed beyond the relief lines, suggesting a test firing or a workshop reject rather than a finished commission, an honest record of how tiles of this type were made for mosques, churches, public buildings, and restoration work.

Measures approximately 12½ inches across and ⅝ inch thick (31.8 x 1.6 cm), with a center hole of about ⅝ inch (1.6 cm). Weight approximately 3 lb 14 oz (0.8 kg).