Lot 437
437
AN OTTOMAN MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND TORTOISESHELL INLAID BOX
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AN OTTOMAN MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND TORTOISESHELL INLAID BOX

TURKEY, CIRCA 1800

Details
AN OTTOMAN MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND TORTOISESHELL INLAID BOX
TURKEY, CIRCA 1800
Of rectangular form with hinged coffered top, each side of the body with panels of quatrefoil motifs forming a lattice design, the lid with wide border of scrolling floral arabesques and the top with four panels, the outer two with mirrored design of palmettes and the inner two with central flowerheads on wide vine, each decorative register within minor border of chequered bone and ebony design, the interior with modern deep purple velvet padding, probable slight repair, very slight loss on one corner
12½ x 10 x 8¼in. (31.6 x 25.3 x 21cm.)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

An unusual feature of the inlay on this casket is the use of very small khatamkar circular elements in the centre of each of the four large flowers flanking the central elements on the cover. This is not a technique that is normally found in Turkey, although it is widely known in Iran and India. There is however an earlier precedent as it appears on a Qur'an box dating from the first half of the 16th century in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul (Splendors of the Ottoman Sultans, exhibition catalogue, Memphis, 1992, pp.162-3).

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