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Lot Essay
This remarkable very finely potted Iznik jug is of a form that is not seen in any other vessel. It has a form of spout that is found on four other ewers or carafes, three tall examples with high-shouldered body dating from 1540 (Nurhan Atasoy and Julian Raby, Iznik, the Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, pls.347-349), and one with very low slung body dating from around 1560-65 now in the al-Sabah Collection (Oliver Watson, Ceramics from Islamic Lands, London, 2004, no.T.10, pp.436-7). While the form of the spout in this ewer is similar to those, this full-bellied body is mid-way in form between the others.
The sailing ships are very well delineated, far better executed than on most vessels. This is a motif that was used on Iznik pottery since the early days of blue-and-white in the early 16th century, as shown by a famous dish in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and also a fragmentary tile sold in our Paris saleroom 7 March 2007, lot 144. For a discussion of the development of the design please see Gönül Öney: "Iznik Pottery Embracing the High Seas",P, Art and Culture Magazine, Spring 2003, Issue 8, pp.78-91. The drawing of the individual ships on this jug is very similar indeed to that on a dish in the Louvre (published by Öney as being in the Barlow Collection) with their turquoise superstructures with hatching fore and aft, and their three neat black dots on the main rope (Atasoy and Raby, op.cit., pl.753). It is very probable that they were decorated by the same potter.
The sailing ships are very well delineated, far better executed than on most vessels. This is a motif that was used on Iznik pottery since the early days of blue-and-white in the early 16th century, as shown by a famous dish in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and also a fragmentary tile sold in our Paris saleroom 7 March 2007, lot 144. For a discussion of the development of the design please see Gönül Öney: "Iznik Pottery Embracing the High Seas",P, Art and Culture Magazine, Spring 2003, Issue 8, pp.78-91. The drawing of the individual ships on this jug is very similar indeed to that on a dish in the Louvre (published by Öney as being in the Barlow Collection) with their turquoise superstructures with hatching fore and aft, and their three neat black dots on the main rope (Atasoy and Raby, op.cit., pl.753). It is very probable that they were decorated by the same potter.