A GOLD-PAINTED BLUE AND WHITE POTTERY JUG
Ottoman Provinces, late 16th - 17th century

Of pyriform baluster-like shape, resting on a straight circular foot, rising to a flared, ringed neck with an everted circular rim, surmounted by a later-fitted Chinese blue and white porcelain cup as lid, on the side a sinuous Iznik-style handle, the fritware body painted in underglaze cobalt blue with overglaze gilding on a white ground, decorated with a frieze of stylised floral sprays on the shoulders and large blue carnations amidst swirling vines on the belly, the neck and handle with vertical bands, an old inventory number in red (3551?) inscribed on the foot, 33cm high.

The decorative program on this jug is quite puzzling. The floral motifs and patterns on the body lack the finesse and refinement of 16th-century Ottoman wares produced in the kilns of Iznik and Damascus, and yet the shape of the handle and the presence of a Chinese porcelain cup as lid indicate a strong connection with those productions. The arrangement in overlapping horizontal bands feels schematic and rigid, far from the playfulness of certain Iznik jugs. The closer affinity to our lot in terms of decorative arrangement is shown on a Timurid blue and white jug (Kjeld Von Folsach, Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, 2001, cat. 229, p. 176). The present example could therefore be an example of blue and white pottery production taking place in kilns located in the Ottoman provinces, active at the same time as the Iznik and Damascus kilns. This would possibly explain the hybrid blend of Iznik shapes and Persian motifs in this lot, creating a vessel that bridge the gap between the two well-established traditions. Another analogous blue and white pottery jug attributed to the Ottoman provinces and dating to the late 16th - early 17th century was offered at Sotheby's London, 10 June 2020, lot 128.