.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This remarkable bracelet is an outstanding survival from the high Ottoman period of the sixteenth century. While there are no precisely comparable pieces which have been published, all the details are completely consistent with other related items of the period. Other armbands with rubies inset within gold floral and leafy designs on gold plaques are known. One of these, in the Museum für Kunsthandwerk in Frankfurt has very comparable handling of the inlay on the three jade panels (Türkische Kunst und Kultur aus osmanischer Zeit, exhibition catalogue, Recklinghausen, 1985, vol.I, p.125 and vol.II, no, p.308). It is however solidly constructed, unlike the present example.
The work along the sides of the panels is very close to other narrow decorative bands of the period. The double spouts of a crystal ewer in the Topkapi Palace are very similarly engraved, with different bands along each facet (The Anatolian Civilisations, exhibition catalogue, Istanbul, 1983, no.E120, p.238). There are also comparisons for the chain link panels, used in a number of the hardstone inset bookbindings of the period which remain in the Topkapi palace (Atil, Esin: The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, exhibition catalogue, Washington D.C., nos.20 ans 21, pp.62-64). This outstanding bracelet is in remarkable condition, demonstrating clearly the splendour of the royal workshops of the Ottoman Court at its height.
The work along the sides of the panels is very close to other narrow decorative bands of the period. The double spouts of a crystal ewer in the Topkapi Palace are very similarly engraved, with different bands along each facet (The Anatolian Civilisations, exhibition catalogue, Istanbul, 1983, no.E120, p.238). There are also comparisons for the chain link panels, used in a number of the hardstone inset bookbindings of the period which remain in the Topkapi palace (Atil, Esin: The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, exhibition catalogue, Washington D.C., nos.20 ans 21, pp.62-64). This outstanding bracelet is in remarkable condition, demonstrating clearly the splendour of the royal workshops of the Ottoman Court at its height.