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Lot Essay
From the late 1520s, Iznik potters began to imitate Chinese porcelains. Those copied were generally of the Yuan and early Ming dynasties of the 14th and 15th centuries, examples of which found their way into the Islamic world. Of all the Chinese prototypes that existed in the Topkapi Palace collections and were copied by the potters at Iznik, it was the early 15th century Ming grape design – in which three bunches of grapes are depicted amongst vine leaves – that proved the most popular (for Ming examples in the Ottoman royal collection see R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Museum Istanbul, vol.II, London, 1986, nos.605 and 606). It is clear that the grape design also found particular favour at other royal courts throughout the Islamic world - the ‘Mahin Banu’ grape dish for instance which sold at Sotheby’s New York, 17-18th March 2015, lot 264, was treasured at the Safavid Court and later came into the personal possession of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
Atasoy and Raby, in a long discussion on the group, write that the potters of Iznik were faithful to the aesthetic of their Chinese forerunners but indifferent to their 'niceties' as is evidenced by their irregular treatment of the design which was allowed more freedom of interpretation than the original (Nurhan Atasoy and Julian Raby, Iznik. The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, pp.121-24). The Ottomans developed the palette of the original Chinese blue and white dishes by adding highlights of green in the leaves and borders, as seen here. A noteworthy feature of our dish is the lappet border that surrounds the central grape motif. Here the potters are using a distinctly Ottoman decorative motif with the Chinese prototype. Two tazzas where a lappet border is combined with a Chinese motif (in both of those instances a lotus bouquet), are in the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv.314-1867) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv.no.29.33). Both dishes, like ours, also have the stylised ‘wave and rock’ border that was based on an earlier Yuan model and fast became a staple of the Ottoman decorative repertoire.
Atasoy and Raby, in a long discussion on the group, write that the potters of Iznik were faithful to the aesthetic of their Chinese forerunners but indifferent to their 'niceties' as is evidenced by their irregular treatment of the design which was allowed more freedom of interpretation than the original (Nurhan Atasoy and Julian Raby, Iznik. The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, pp.121-24). The Ottomans developed the palette of the original Chinese blue and white dishes by adding highlights of green in the leaves and borders, as seen here. A noteworthy feature of our dish is the lappet border that surrounds the central grape motif. Here the potters are using a distinctly Ottoman decorative motif with the Chinese prototype. Two tazzas where a lappet border is combined with a Chinese motif (in both of those instances a lotus bouquet), are in the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv.314-1867) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv.no.29.33). Both dishes, like ours, also have the stylised ‘wave and rock’ border that was based on an earlier Yuan model and fast became a staple of the Ottoman decorative repertoire.