Iznik vase, Turkish, circa 1575, 37 cm h
147
An important Iznik pottery Water Bottle (surahi)
Turkey, circa 1575
the bulbous body rising through a recurved band to a tubular neck with torus moulding and flaring mouth, on short foot, the brilliant white ground of the body painted with red carnations and blue hyacinths, a band of plaited ribbon above, the upper neck with similar floral motifs, the lower neck with lobed panels with cusped ends and medial blue stripes, the moulding with split-palmette interlace
38.3cm high
Sold for £184,850 inc. premium

Footnotes

  • For close decorative comparisons see Christie's, Ottomans and Orientalists, 18th June 1998, Lot 11; and another similar in the British Museum, inv. no. OA 14237, (N. Atasoy and J. Raby, Iznik, London, 1989, fig. 728).

    The cypress tree as a decorative element was first used in blue and white on hexagonal tiles in the mosque of Murad II in Edirne around 1435, likely influenced by porcelain motifs of the Yuan period in China. In a religious architectural context the cypress tree can be used to relate to the first letter of the alphabet 'alif. On dishes and related forms it appears in the third quarter of the 16th Century and forms a distinct part of the decorative theme of the garden.

    Further examples of Iznik water bottles have been sold at auction in recent years: Christie's, Iznik Pottery: The Vincent Bulent Collection, 26th April 2005, lot 11 and lot 46; Christie's,Islamic Art and Manuscripts, 29th April 2003, lot 162; Christies, Ottomans and Orientalists, 21st June 2000, lots 39 and 42; and Sotheby's, Islamic Works of Art, 24th April, 1990, lot 386 (The Property of Girton College, Cambridge).

Category: Islamic and Oriental Art / Islamic and Indian Art

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