A Timurid blue and white pottery dish with geometric design, Persia, 15th century. Photo Sotheby's

of deep round form with everted rim, decorated in underglaze cobalt blue with an entwined geometric design filled with linear motifs; 38.7cm. diam. Estimation 30,000 — 40,000 GBP

The cross-cultural influence between Persian and Chinese ceramic wares can be traced back to the ninth century through trade and the imitation of artistic motifs. During the Timurid period, local ceramic potters borrowed designs and patterns derived from Chinese porcelain models, and a number of these particular motifs can be directly identified on the following three examples, notably, cloud bands (as on lot 116), lotus sprays (as on lot 117), and a “double-scroll” geometric design as seen on the present lot.

This dish features an interesting combination of designs that illustrates the various influences that went into its production, including a border of cross-hatched lines along the rim and a central design comprising an interlaced scroll pattern filled with varied geometric designs. It is directly comparable to a dish in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, inv. no. VG.787 (illustrated in: Golombek, Mason, G.A. Baily, Tamerlane’s Tableware: A new approach to the Chinoiserie ceramics of fifteenth and sixteenth century Iran, Royal Ontario Museum, Canada, 1996, p.204, plate 45). Two further comparable dishes are in the Nasser D. Khalili collection, inv. no. POT 1910 and POT 1911.

Sotheby's. Arts of the Islamic World, London | 09 avr. 2014 - www.sothebys.com