Lot Essay
The inscription in the arch contains Quran sura lv (al-rahman), vv. 26-27: "26. Everyone that is thereon will pass away, 27. There remains but the countenance of thy Lord of Glory and Goodness."
The inscription in the cartouche below contains the shahada.
The same overall composition of the cusped horse-shoe arch is found in the famous blue and white tilework in the S/uunnet Odasi (Circumcision Chamber) in the Topkapi Saray dating from around 1530. The combination of interlaced arabesques with palmette and saz leaf decoration seen here is also very typical of the group of small silver bowls such as that sold in these Rooms 24 April 1990, lot 377. Some of the group have tughras which date them between the reigns of Bayezit II and Sulayman (between 1481 and 1566), again confirming the proposed dating on the present carving.
The inscription in the cartouche below contains the shahada.
The same overall composition of the cusped horse-shoe arch is found in the famous blue and white tilework in the S/uunnet Odasi (Circumcision Chamber) in the Topkapi Saray dating from around 1530. The combination of interlaced arabesques with palmette and saz leaf decoration seen here is also very typical of the group of small silver bowls such as that sold in these Rooms 24 April 1990, lot 377. Some of the group have tughras which date them between the reigns of Bayezit II and Sulayman (between 1481 and 1566), again confirming the proposed dating on the present carving.