A Chinese vase with Islamic metal, China, 17th Century. Photo Florence Number Nine

Interesting Chinese porcelain pear-shaped bottle stylistically similar to the "transition period" porcelain (1620-1663). The floral and vegetal decoration is divided into vertical bands separated by fretwork and abstract motifs. The fragile bottle neck has suffered the same fate as the previous lot and has been replaced with a metal mount of characteristic Islamic "arabesque" style. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue decoration. h 18,5 cm. Estimate: €650 - €800

Chinese porcelain was highly approved of in Islamic countries and, as it was seen as a status symbol it was collected in the chini-khaneh or in other words porcelain houses. It is documented that in 1607-08, the Shah Abbass of Persia gave his royal collection of Chinese porcelain to the temple of Ardabil, an event which proves that the trend to collect these Chinese objects was already well established. It could be hypothesized that this bottle arrived, probably intact, in Persia and was then stored, together with other similar examples in these Chini-khaneh and, following the subsequent breakage of the neck, was "Islamified" with the silver mount.

Florence Number Nine. 05 Apr 2014 10:30am. http://www.florencenumbernine.com/ - Tel: +39 0555277665