Lot 229. A rare Iznik blue and white pottery dish, Turkey, circa 1560-1570; 28cm. diam. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 GBP (46,432 - 69,648 EUR). Lot sold 50,000 GBP (57,970 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of shallow round form with everted rim, decorated in cobalt blue with central foliate medallion encircled by four floral vases, rim with breaking wave motif, the reverse with alternating chinoiserie and flowerheads, old European collection label.

Provenance: Ex-collection Édouard Aynard, France (1837-1913).
Lyon, Hotel des Ventes des Tuiliers, 6 November 1991, lot 5.

Edouard Aynard.

Aynard was a notable patron of the arts, and a founding member of the Historical Museum of Fabrics of Lyon and the School of Commerce and Weaving. With a particular interest in Islamic art, he enriched the collections of the Museum of Lyon through generous donations, as well as chairing the commission of acquisitions and the board of directors. In 1913, he became an honorary member of the National Society of Fine Arts. 

Note: Characteristic of the second half of the sixteenth century, the present dish belongs to a rare group with motifs based on Chinese Jiajing design, after a dynasty that ruled from 1522-66 (Atasoy & Raby 1994, p.245, figs.471-476). Pertinent to debates surrounding reciprocal influences between China and the Islamic Middle East, the ‘wave and rock’ motif is one of the most popular and pervasive Chinese decorative trends seen in Iznik wares. Two further dishes from this group can be found in the Barlow Collection and in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv. no. 19.1189). For a similar central decoration see O. Aslanapa, The Iznik Kiln Tile Excavation, Ankara, 1989, pp.87-220.

Deep plate, Turkish (Iznik), About 1590. Fritware, painted over white slip, with transparent glaze, 5 x 29 cm. The John Pickering Lyman Collection—Gift of Miss Theodora Lyman. © 2019 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston