Christie's. Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, London, 25 April 2013
A Kutahya pottery pilgrim's flask, Ottoman Turkey, 18th century
Lot 252. A Kutahya pottery pilgrim's flask, Ottoman Turkey, 18th century; 7 7/8in. (20cm.) high. Estimate GBP 6,000 - GBP 8,000. Price realised GBP 49,875. © Christie's Image Ltd 2013
With flat rounded body and cylindrical neck with widely flaring mouth, each side moulded with two concentric circles, the white surface densely decorated in yellow, bole-red, cobalt-blue, turquoise and black with a central floral spray which grows in opposite directions to each side surrounded by minor registers of flowering vine or zig-zag leaf motifs, the border with a series of cusped cartouches filled with small roundels and on a ground of floral spray, chip to mouth, small areas of restoration.
Note: A similar pilgrim flask is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Arthur Lane, Later Islamic Pottery, London, 1971, no.51, p.65).