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Lot Essay
This unusually large bottle is of a quality of draughtsmanship rarely seen on vessels other than dishes. One other bottle is very comparable in many features, sold in these Rooms, 24 April 1990 as lot 386 and now in the Khalili Collection (Rogers, J.M.: Empire of the Sultans, Geneva, 1995, no.124, pp.186-7). Not only is the size similar, but many of the minor decorative details are similar or the same. The boss is decorated with a simple blue design on a white ground, the shoulder has an interlace design with red highlights, and there is a small band of floral design immediately below the base of the neck above the main floral band. All these indicate the same workshop, and possibly the same hand.
There are also two slightly smaller bottles with comparable designs both from the Godman Collection and now in the British Museum (Atasoy, Nurhan and Raby, Julian: Iznik, the Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, pl.728 and 729). Of all of these however the present example manages to convey the greatest sense of movement, particularly in the way all the flowers swirl around behind the stationary vertical cypress trees.
Both the Khalili bottle and the present example show clearly the artist sketching out his design. This appears to have been done with a point into the white slip before any colour was applied. The positions of the main floral elements are worked out and are only then drawn in in black and colour infill. This same feature was noticeable on the earlier Iznik bottle dating from around 1540-45 sold in these Rooms, 21 June 2000, lot 42. Once this has been done, the artist is free to add his own small details, such as the inclusion of one extra different flower on one of the panels which is absent in all the others.
There are also two slightly smaller bottles with comparable designs both from the Godman Collection and now in the British Museum (Atasoy, Nurhan and Raby, Julian: Iznik, the Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, pl.728 and 729). Of all of these however the present example manages to convey the greatest sense of movement, particularly in the way all the flowers swirl around behind the stationary vertical cypress trees.
Both the Khalili bottle and the present example show clearly the artist sketching out his design. This appears to have been done with a point into the white slip before any colour was applied. The positions of the main floral elements are worked out and are only then drawn in in black and colour infill. This same feature was noticeable on the earlier Iznik bottle dating from around 1540-45 sold in these Rooms, 21 June 2000, lot 42. Once this has been done, the artist is free to add his own small details, such as the inclusion of one extra different flower on one of the panels which is absent in all the others.