Wed 21 October 2020:
London-based auction house Sotheby’s is auctioning off a 540-year-old Iznik pottery hanging ornament from the early Ottoman period at an astonishing price.
The famous auction house – which has previously held auctions of works from the Ottoman period – estimated a price between 180,000 pounds and 220,000 pounds ($232,142 and $283,729) for the Iznik pottery, made in the 1480s.
Characterised by an intense, inky, blue-black colouring, this small and exceptionally rare group of Iznik pottery reflects the earliest stage of firing control, before the use of underglaze cobalt blue had been fully mastered by the potters.
The same phenomenon occurs in early Chinese blue and white porcelain of the early fourteenth century, resulting in the same ‘heaped and piled’ effect that we witness on this ornament. It took roughly two decades before a brighter and clearer blue was achieved.
It is stated that the hanging ornament, which will be sold in a live auction next week, was produced during the reigns of Mehmed II, also known as Mehmed the Conqueror, and his son Bayezid II. The 13th verse of Surah As-Saf is also engraved on the ornament.
Mehmed II (r.1451-81) was renowned for his intense interest in and patronage of the arts, including architecture, and he is celebrated for inviting foreign artists to his court, such as Gentile Bellini. It was during his reign that the first court style was developed.
“Characterized by an intense, inky, blue-black coloring, this small and exceptionally rare example of Iznik pottery reflects the earliest stage of firing control, before the use of underglaze cobalt blue had been fully mastered by the potters,” says the website of Sotheby’s about the work.
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