The Promising Debut of Iznik Ceramics

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Iznik ceramics are known and appreciated by auction users for their variety, their abundance and the quality of their colors. Pieces of the second half of the sixteenth century are common.

It is rare to be able to go back to 1510. Christie's does it for a bottle, for sale in London on March 31. As often in the ceramics of Iznik, the object is quite large: 27 cm high. It is drop-shaped, closing on a narrow opening. The motifs of white flowers are arranged in blue compartments whose slightly curved lines meet at the neck. It is surely no accident that these colors are the same as those of Chinese porcelain of the Yuan period.

To date the first Iznik ceramics, the benchmarks are the motifs that are found in the tiles adorning the tombs of the dignitaries. Those of our bottle display an aesthetic that could be considered as new circa 1506.

This piece had started a second career as a lamp base before the Christie's specialists recognize its importance and attribute to it an estimate of £ 80K.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Unsold. This bottle had no neck, which probably explains this result.