#iznik

Dish with Blue Lion and Tulips. Iznik, Türkiye, Ottoman Empire. 1560.

Archaeologists Uncover Rare Roman-Era Fresco of Jesus in Turkey

Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered one of the most important finds from Anatolia’s early Christian era: a fresco of a Roman-looking Jesus as the “Good Shepherd.”

The painting was discovered in August in an underground tomb near Iznik, a town in northwestern Turkey that secured its place in Christian history as the place where the Nicene Creed was adopted in A.D. 325. Pope Leo XIV recently visited the town as part of his first overseas trip.

At the time, the region was part of the Roman Empire, and the tomb in the village of Hisardere is believed to date to the 3rd century, a time when Christians still faced widespread persecution.

The Good Shepherd fresco depicts a youthful, clean-shaven Jesus dressed in a toga and carrying a goat across his shoulders. Researchers say it is one of the rare instances in Anatolia where Jesus is portrayed with distinctly Roman attributes.

Before the cross was widely adopted as Christianity ’s universal symbol, the Good Shepherd motif played a key role in expressing faith, indicating protection, salvation and divine guidance.

Despite its central role in early Christianity, however, only a few examples of the Good Shepherd have been found in Anatolia and the one in Hisardere is the best preserved.

Lead archaeologist Gulsen Kutbay described the artwork as possibly the “only example of its kind in Anatolia.”

The walls and ceiling of the cramped tomb are decorated with bird and plant motifs. Portraits of noble men and women, accompanied by slave attendants, also decorate the walls.

Eren Erten Ertem, an archaeologist from Iznik Museum, said the frescoes showed “a transition from late paganism to early Christianity, depicting the deceased being sent off to the afterlife in a positive and fitting manner.”

The excavation uncovered the skeletons of five individuals, anthropologist Ruken Zeynep Kose said. Because of poor preservation, it was impossible to determine the ages of two of them, but the others were two young adults and a 6-month-old infant.

By Mehmet Güzel and Andrew Wilks.

Dish (with a lion, dog, and stag)

Ottoman: Iznik, Türkiye, c.1585-1600

Fritware (polychrome, painted & glazed); H 29.8 cm

Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

This 'Blue Ocean' cultivar of the Hydrangea macrophylla was apparently chosen by the curators to replicate a specific art history - İznik Ceramics. These brilliant cobalt blues and turquoise hydrangea were supposedly used to echo 16th-century Turkish ceramic art.

And an interesting botanic fact: The blue colour is actually not in the hydrangea gene. It's triggered by the acidity of the soil when the pH is below 5.5.

Au Louvre-Lens, une expo : "Par delà les Mille-et-une Nuits - Histoires des Orientalismes" :

lion en cuivre, dit "de Monzòn" - Cordoue, 1000

Théodore Deck - "Coupe Monumentale" - 1867

Fatima Mazmouz - "Super Oum 'Constellation' - Mères culturelles" - 2026

Baya - "Coupe de fruits et Oiseau" - 1984

Emile Richard - bouteille persane, 1893 ; plat et bouteille - Iznik, Turquie ottomane, 1600 ; Théodore Deck - vase imitant une bouteille d'Iznik, 1875.

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Looking at my Coptic embroidery reminded mom of a quilt pattern she’s had for years and been intending to do. Now she’s thinking about it again!

And then that made me think of, Filiz Türkocağı, “Embroidery in Iznik pottery style (Turkey)"