A Fine Iznik Blue an White Dish, Turkey, Circa 1560-70 - Photo Sotheby's

of shallow rounded form, decorated in greyish-blue with a central floral medallion encircled by four lotus palmettes enclosed by a leaf and tendril border, rim with breaking wave motif, the reverse with alternating chinoiserie and C-scrolls; 30cm. diam. stimate: 15,000 - 25,000 GBP. Unsold

CATALOGUE NOTE: This dish illustrates the fascination with early Chinese blue and white porcelains amongst the potters and patrons of Iznik. The origin of the design is an early fifteenth-century Ming dish such as the one in the collection of the Topkapi Saray (Krahl 1986, p.513, no.602). The flowers are different but of a kind found on other early fifteenth-century Chinese dishes (ibid., no.603).

The design of our dish, therefore, draws on Ming designs from several sources, combining them to tremendous effect. A further element drawn from Chinese blue and white porcelain is the grey-blue colour of the design. This appeared on Chinese pieces at times when they were forced to use local cobalt rather than imported sources. This did nothappen during the early fifteenth century which is a period noted for the consistently rich blue of its porcelain. Hence, the decoration draws on sources of different periods and one may assume that this grey-blue was adopted to achieve a particular aesthetic for the piece.

Sotheby's, Arts of the Islamic World, London | 05 Oct 2011 www.sothebys.com