OTTOMAN TURKEY, CIRCA 1600

Although the potters of Iznik showed great inventiveness in the motifs and designs with which they decorated their wares, most of the production of Iznik was very standardized in form. This fine Iznik jug is extremely rare in that it is completely without parallel in shape. Iznik jugs (or bardak), are the most frequently encountered form of pouring vessel created, but they are of very distinct shape with straight neck and handle (see lot 140 in the current sale). Atasoy and Raby write that the proportion and the height of the neck tended to vary but that the basic size and shape of this form remain unchanged from around 1510 to the 17^th century (Nurhan Atasoy and Julian Raby, Iznik, the Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, p.47). Not only is ours a good 10cm. or so taller than most of the standard jugs, but the body has a more taller, more cylindrical form, tapering slightly towards the base. It is a complete outlier, and shows a degree of experimentation unusual for Iznik.

The motif of the sailing ship is one that was used on Iznik pottery since the early days of blue-and-white in the early 16^th century, as shown by a famous dish in the Victoria & Albert Museum, and also a fragmentary tile sold in our Paris saleroom, 7 March 2007, lot 144. For a discussion of the development of the design please see Gönül Öney, ‘Iznik Pottery Embracing the High Seas’, Art and Culture Magazine, Spring 2003, Issue 8, pp.78-91.

Another unusual Iznik jug decorated with ships was sold in these Rooms, 5 October 2010.