A CANTAGALLI RUBY LUSTRE-PAINTED POTTERY JUG
PROPERTY FROM THE LATE MOHAMED MAKIYA COLLECTION
Ulisse Cantagalli, Florence, Italy, mid to late 19th century

Of typical bulbous shape, resting on a short circular foot, rising to a tall flared neck with a wide circular rim, with a curved handle on one side, painted with ruby lustre on cream ground, decorated with lustre designs inspired from Hispano-Moresque models, featuring a typical Moorish bird in flight set within a large circular medallion on the body, framed by vegetal crescent meanders and surrounded by scrolling pomegranate stems, the base marked with the maker's symbol, a blue-painted cockrel, and the number '18', 21.6cm high.

Provenance: Dreweatts Auction House, 11 Nov 2021, part of lot 509.

Throughout his life, Mohamed Makiya (1914 - 2015), a renowned London-based Iraqi architect, was always fascinated and interested in Islamic culture and art. Over the course of his many years, Makiya earned the accolade of being called one of the most successful architects of his generation, designing and overseeing awarding-winning projects that are now considered true icons of the Middle East. He is also remembered as a passionate teacher - founding the Architecture Department at Baghdad University in 1959 - and author - publishing important works such as The Arab Village (1951) and The Architecture of Baghdad (1969). His commitment to the preservation and continuation of artistic and cultural traditions is evident in the great collection of works that he gathered. In April 2016, Christie's London offered his collection of manuscripts, which they called 'one of a kind' and was 'two-hundred-or-so' in number. For the wider Middle Eastern community in England, he established The Kufa Gallery in Bayswater, London. The gallery became a well-attended promoter of Islamic and Arab culture, intending to bridge the East and the West. Sadly, the gallery closed in 2006. In a biography published in 2021, Karen Dabrowska says that 'Makiya was Baghdad and Baghdad was Makiya' (Mohamed Makiya: A Modern Architect Renewing Islamic Tradition).