We are delighted to present a collection of works of art from a notable Ottoman land‑owning family, that married over generations into the Sultans’ court. Some members were judges, civil servants and vizirs in the Damascus vilayet, as well as members of parliament to the Sublime Porte.
“They [works from the family's collection] can be seen in museums all over the world ‑ especially in Istanbul’s unparalleled Topkapi Palace. Indeed, when I visited its dining hall, I was struck by a Famille Rose Lotus bowl of the same design and large size as the vessels on sale here. It brought to mind the bowls that had always graced my great grandmother’s house in Suq Saruja, known in Damascus as ‘Little Istanbul’, where both my grandmother and mother were born.
Ottoman elites were wild about blue and white Chinese porcelain. Its barter for silk brocade, spices, incense, perfumes or gold was an important part of the Silk Road’s trade. But Chinese export porcelain was even more recherché, as it constituted the creation of special designs to the exclusive order of the Ottoman Sultan and his court. Bowls and plates with the pale pink lotus motif were what Ottoman sultans ate off during special occasions. They were gifted to members of the Sultan’s extended family or to members of local aristocracy wherever the Ottoman Empire held sway, which is how my maternal family came to possess this much‑beloved porcelain.”
Read on below to explore a few of the highlights from the collection to be offered in our 16 May auction of Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art...
Large covered tureens like the present example were made at the Chinese porcelain factories in Jingdezhen in the second half of the 18th century, of which a large number of extant pieces are in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Some tureens are further decorated with strong Ottoman symbolism, such as Qur'anic verses and crescent moon and star, suggesting that they were special commissions for important Turkish clients. A large covered tureen, painted with gilt Qur'anic verses on similar blue-glazed ground, dated to the Qianlong period, was sold at Sotheby's London, 31 March 2021, lot 102.
This style of rose-cut diamonds assembled into ornate necklaces, bangles and earrings belong to a small group of jewels produced for ladies of the ruling classes under Sultan Abulhamid II. Further examples of jewellery in the same style can be seen in the auction catalogue of Hotel Drouot, Paris, Les Bijoux de S. M. Sultan Abdulhamid II, 4-11 December 1911, figs. 65-66.
The combination of tulips and pomegranates is a design that was highly favoured by the Ottoman court artists from the 17th century onwards as well as many of decorative arts such as Iznik ceramics.
The style of script of this Qur’an section epitomises the transitional period from the early kufic style into the more angular and more accentuated regional styles called ‘eastern’ and ‘western’. The crossed and perfectly symmetrical lam-alif is a characteristic of the eastern kufic. Another interesting feature of this Qur’an is the structure of the thick, buff paper, whose chain lines and laid lines are clearly visible. A single folio from the same Qur’an (Sura II, al-Baqara, v.146-150) previously in the collection of Adrienne Minassian, New York, 1955, was sold Sotheby’s, London in the auction of the Stuart Cary Welch Collection Part II, 6 April 2011, lot 13.
Lyon & Turnbull’s international Asian Art department conduct frequent specialist auctions, in the various locations throughout the UK and via live online auctions. These auctions have a special focus on Chinese and Japanese ceramics, paintings, furniture, jade, textiles and works of art and are perfectly positioned to capitalise on the current strength in the Asian antiques markets.
