A fine Iznik blue and white pottery dish, Turkey, circa 1560-70. Estimation 6,000 — 8,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

of shallow round form with everted rim, decorated in cobalt blue with 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.

Note: The designs on this dish indicate that its craftsmen drew inspiration from the Topkapi Palace's collection of more than five thousand pieces of Chinese blue and white porcelain. The present dish is particularly close in design to a fifteenth-century Ming piece in the Topkapi Palace, whereas the popular wave-and-rock design on the rim recalls fourteenth-century Yuan dynasty prototypes (Krahl 1986, p.513, no.602).

Sotheby's. Arts of the Islamic World, Londres, 22 avr. 2015