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Lot Essay
The production of Kütahya can be traced back to the early 16th century, and in 1608, the Turkish governor there received instruction from Istanbul that the 'masters who make cups in Kütahya' should sell some of their soda (a raw material used for pottery) to the potters of Iznik who were running short (Arthur Lane, Later Islamic Pottery, London, 1957, p.63). By 1700, the flourishing city production had exceeded Iznik as the primary one of the empire, with many of the potters of Iznik relocating to Kütahya (Géza Fehérvári, Ceramics of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum, London, 2000, p.316). As well as tiles for Armenian churches, potters also fashioned many everyday objects for the Ottoman elite such as bowls like this, ewers, coffee cups and saucers. The Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi mentioned in 1669-70 that bowls were produced for export in the Kütahya quarter of the "infidel china-makers" (Lane, op.cit).
The floral designs here are a loose interpretation of the Chinese famille rose porcelain patterns, with dated pieces from the 1740s, including a deep bowl from 1744, marking the introduction of Eastern designs into the decorative repertoire (John Carswell et al., Sadberk Hanim Museum: Turkish Tiles and Ceramics, Istanbul, 1991, p.54). The shape, however, is also found on examples with Christian scenes dated 1718⁄9 AD (Carswell and G. J. F. Dowsett, Kütahya Tiles and Pottery from the Armenian Cathedral of St. James, Jerusalem, vol.1, Oxford, 1972, pp.72-75, pls.17-20).
Related, but slightly smaller, examples are in the Suna and İnan Kıraç Collection (1⁄229; Şebnem Akalın and Hülya Yılmaz Bilgi, Delights of Kütahya, Istanbul, 1997, pp.26-27). A closely related bowl was sold in these Rooms, 25 April 2013, lot 249, while others also in these Rooms, 27 April 2023, lot 151 and 25 April 2013, lot 249.
The floral designs here are a loose interpretation of the Chinese famille rose porcelain patterns, with dated pieces from the 1740s, including a deep bowl from 1744, marking the introduction of Eastern designs into the decorative repertoire (John Carswell et al., Sadberk Hanim Museum: Turkish Tiles and Ceramics, Istanbul, 1991, p.54). The shape, however, is also found on examples with Christian scenes dated 1718⁄9 AD (Carswell and G. J. F. Dowsett, Kütahya Tiles and Pottery from the Armenian Cathedral of St. James, Jerusalem, vol.1, Oxford, 1972, pp.72-75, pls.17-20).
Related, but slightly smaller, examples are in the Suna and İnan Kıraç Collection (1⁄229; Şebnem Akalın and Hülya Yılmaz Bilgi, Delights of Kütahya, Istanbul, 1997, pp.26-27). A closely related bowl was sold in these Rooms, 25 April 2013, lot 249, while others also in these Rooms, 27 April 2023, lot 151 and 25 April 2013, lot 249.