Freed from the strict controls imposed by the imperial court, at Iznik, the potters at Damascus became more spontaneous, combining traditional iconography in new ways such as juxtaposing geometrical elements with non-geometrical ones as seen here, in this very large plate.

At the centre of the composition, four cypress trees spring from a central rosette, possibly a water source or fountain, clearly marking the cardinal points of the design. While four large medallions with arabesques fill the space between them. Rosettes fill the interstices while, running around the rim, small medallions alternate with pairs of flowers flanking cypresses.

The overall symmetry achieved by the artist is broken only by pairs of birds perched on the trees, which, in their lively profiles, appear almost to bring song to the cacophony of dense decoration.