Kütahya Calligraphic Tile, "Ya Allah"

A hand-painted ceramic tile from Kütahya, the Anatolian pottery town whose workshops carried Ottoman-era decorative traditions well into the twentieth century. At the center, a calligraphic inscription reads "يا الله" (Ya Allah), "O God."

The inscription is framed by a floral border worked in turquoise, cobalt blue, and red. The tile measures 20 by 20 cm (about 7¾ inches) and is roughly 7 mm thick.

It reads equally well hung alone as wall art, kept as a devotional object, or set into a larger panel.