Lot Essay
A chalice with very closely related design is in the Suna and Inan Kiraç Collection (Sebnem Akalin and Hülya Yilmaz Bilgi, Delights of Kutahya, Istanbul, 1997, no.23, pp.52-3; Laure Soustiel, Splendeurs de la Céramique Ottomane, exhibition catalogue, Paris, 2000, no.59, pp.110-111). The same designs are found on the underside of the basin associated with a ewer in Jerusalem which are dated to 1716 AD (John Carswell and C.J.F. Dowsett, Kutahya Tiles and Pottery from the Armenian Cathedral of St. James, Jerusalem, Oxford, 1972, vol.1, pp.81-2 and pl.2). A simpler version of the same design is found on an incense burner that is otherwise very similar to the present example in the Sadberk Hanim Museum, (Ara Altun, John Carswell and Gönül Öney, Turkish Tiles and Ceramics, Istanbul, 1991, no.K.12, p.62). A further example also in blue and white, of slightly different form but with a similar series of finely pierced floral medallions in the cover, is in the British Museum (John Carswell, Kutahya Tiles and Pottery from the Armenian Cathedral of St. James, Jerusalem, Oxford, 1972, vol.2, fig.15a, p.33).