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Kouchakji Freres Fahim Kouchakji and his brother were originally of Syrian origin and made their money in munitions. Having moved to Paris their "salon" was high profile and very well frequented. Like many of their contemporaries they were both collectors and dealers. Later in life they moved, at the same time as many others shortly after the First World War, to New York where Fahim developed his academic interest. He wrote a number of articles on pottery and glass and was also the publisher of a number of art books. Part of his estate was sold at Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York on 21 May 1977.

AN IZNIK POTTERY JUG

OTTOMAN TURKEY, CIRCA 1570

Details

AN IZNIK POTTERY JUG
OTTOMAN TURKEY, CIRCA 1570
Of bulbous form on short foot rising to gently flaring mouth and with simple hoop handle, the brilliant white body decorated with green, cobalt-blue, bole-red and black with a register of stylized green fish-scale pomegranates with row of small blue tulips below and arching red flowers above, the neck with a similar but reduced design, the base with a band of stylized marbling, the waist with plaited band with blue fringing, the mouth with simple geometric band, mouth restored
7 7/8in. (20cm.) high

Provenance

Fahim Koujakji, Paris Sold Parke Bernet Galleries, New York, 25 April 1970, lot 506

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The panels on this jug derive originally from pomegranate motifs. Their development can be tracked from the relatively recognisable examples in the earlier 1540s (Nurhan Atasoy and Julian Raby: Iznik, the Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, pls.216-219) to a dish dating later from the same decade which already has them filled with fish-scale motifs and no longer on stems. It is only the outline of the pomegranate that remains clear (Atasoy and Raby: op.cit., pl.370). The present jug at least still fills the medallion with fish-scale deisgns; the motif was by this stage frequently used with completely different filler designs (see lots 20, 39 and 40 in this sale).

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