|
1. A FLOWER VASE Turkey (Iznik) circa 1590 Height: 16.5 cm Diameter: 14 cm |
A fine underglaze-painted polychrome baluster shaped vase, depicting a floral design outlined in black, and in shades of cobalt blue, sealing wax red and emerald green against a crisp white ground, the bulbous body rising from a wide and sloping foot and terminating to the top in an inverted mouth, the shoulder pierced with a band of holes for the stems of floral sprays. The sloping foot is painted with two wide borders, one decorated with a mixture of stylised floral sprays and the other a pattern of alternating emerald lappets and cobalt trefoil cartouches. A plain white collar frames the decoration above and below. The main field of the vase is contained within double lined borders. Here, the focal point seems to be vibrant sealing wax red roses, one adorsed pair to each side of the vase. The roses hang down from slender stems which bend under the sheer weight of the sprays, creating almost heart shaped cartouches. Thin elongated leaves tussle with shorter squat varieties along the stems, which are further punctuated by single cobalt rosettes. The rose cartouches contain to their centre a cusped double palmette motif, with the top half mirroring the heart shape of the floral cartouche surrounding it. Smaller stylised rosette sprays twist and turn between the roses and the emerald green cypress trees, which rise stiffly from the lower border on either side. Above the main field is a border of alternating emerald lappets and cobalt serrated leaves with red buds, the centre of each one pierced to hold a floral stem. The neck of the vase has a ground of rich sealing wax red, decorated with a white rope border. The inverted mouth has an unusual marbled pattern painted in black against a white ground. The shape of this rare and unusual vase could well have been inspired by Islamic metalwork vessels. A similar vase is in The Madina Collection of Islamic Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.2002.1.16). Provenance: Vincent Bulent Collection |