Lot 151: EARLY IZNIK POTTERY BOWL, CIRCA 15TH-16TH CENTURY
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This finely crafted earthenware bowl features slip-decorated motifs in shades of deep and light blue, accented with mauve and foliate designs on a cream-coloured background. The piece has been carefully reconstructed with infill, and the underside bears the handwritten inscription “Miletos ware, ” referencing page 142 of The Iznik Tile Excavation, 1981-88.
Provenance:
Previously owned by the private collection of Theo Sarmas (1938–2018), a notable London businessman with a deep passion for Byzantine ceramics and Greek coinage. His collection of medieval Greek coinage is housed at Princeton University in New Jersey.
This pottery, a precursor to the famous Iznik ceramics, is known as “Miletus ware” due to its initial discovery in the ancient city of Miletus, located in southwestern Turkey. Further examples of this rare type of pottery can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inventory nos. C.17-1982 and 792-1905).
Dimensions:
Diameter: 19 cm.
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