Lot 59
TWO DAMASCUS 'CHINESE SCROLL' POTTERY TILES
OTTOMAN SYRIA, CIRCA 1560-70
Auction: 09 December 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
in two parts forming a rectangle with an arched top, decorated in cobalt blue, turquoise and green on a white slip with interlinking split-palmette-and-floral borders, the central image with the same decoration within an arched cusped cartouche, contours with green Chinese-inspired cloud scrolls, all under a transparent glaze
Dimensions
24.2cm x 31cm, 14.8cm x 31cm
Provenance
Private Scottish collection.
Footnote
These two tiles reflect the strong Ottoman influence at its height in Damascus during the 16th century. The decoration relates closely to those that decorate the mihrab of the prayer hall in the Selimiyya Madrasa, Damascus, that are dated to circa 1566. The latter and our tiles share the same borders and the same green Chinese-scroll motifs (see A. Millner, Damascus Tiles, London & New York, 2015, p. 133, Fig. 4. 17).