Lot 22
AN OTTOMAN SILVER MATARA
OTTOMAN PROVINCES, 19TH CENTURY
Auction: 10 June 2026 from 14:00 BST
Description
of wide oval shape, the wood interior overlaid with repoussé openwork silver, the decoration comprising typical Ottoman rococo-style decoration forming repeat vertical floral swags and borders with bands of repeat floral and geometric motifs, with short cylindrical forward pointing spout and upright lid, on a tall splayed foot
Dimensions
30cm x 15.2cm x 11.3cm
Footnote
This matara (flask) is a rare example of the late-Ottoman taste for openwork silver. In its exuberant profusion of vegetal and floral designs, it reflects a taste for complexity bordering on the baroque which can be seen across the arts and architecture of the empire from the mid-18th century onward [for which see Rüstem, Ü., Ottoman Baroque: The Architectural Refashioning of Eighteenth-Century Istanbul, Princeton University Press: 2019, esp. pp. 221-65]. This type of openwork decoration, where the silver is pierced allowing the vessel underneath to be seen, most closely resembles a karlik (cooling vessel) bearing the tughra of Sultan Abdülhamit II (r.1876-1909), which sold at Sotheby’s, Arts of the Islamic World, 19 October 2016, lot 297.
Given the fine craftsmanship on display, it is evident that the contents of a matara of this type would have been of some value. It is tempting to suggest that this example may have been intended as a container for water from the well of Zamzam in Mecca. This was regularly brought back to the imperial capital by pilgrims returning from Hajj, and such a flask would have been used by elite pilgrims [see Porter, V. (ed.), Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam, The British Museum Press, 2012, pp. 72-75]. Silver was generally preferred over gold for religious objects and their fittings. Even in its final years, the Ottoman court’s devotion to the Mecca pilgrimage remained clear, as seen in this flask designed specifically for the prestigious task of collecting Zamzam water. A fine gilt-copper matara was sold in these rooms, 12 June 2024, lot 42.