Gingko Library

The first publication to feature the full collection of Iznik ceramics at the Benaki Museum in Athens.

The Benaki Museum of Islamic Art in Athens has a substantial collection of Iznik ceramics, intricate works created in the city of Iznik in Asia Minor that are decorated with vibrant colors and designs. Although well known to many who visit the museum, this collection--which includes tableware, tiles, and sherds--has never before been published in its entirety.

Archaeologist, scholar, and curator John Carswell first began studying and cataloging these objects in the 1980s. This project has since been revived and guided to fruition by the curator of the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art, Mina Moraitou, who has also contributed a chapter on the Museum’s founder Antonis Benakis and the formation of its Iznik collection. The catalog brings together these admired and sought-after ceramics, featuring over three hundred illustrations of pieces from the Museum’s collection.

John Carswell is an independent scholar living in Spain. He previously worked as an archaeological draughtsman, taught at the American University of Beirut and London University, was the curator of the Oriental Institute Museum, director of the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago, and served as vice president and chairman of the Islamic Department at Sotheby’s, London. Mina Moraitou is curator of the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art in Athens. Melanie Gibson is senior editor of the Gingko Library Arts Series.