Lot 126. A fine carved jade pendant, Persia or Turkey, 16th century. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2016.

carved in the form of a palmette with cusped edges, both sides incised with an arabesque of scrolling tendrils issuing split-palmettes and buds, horizontal drill-hole to top for hanging; 6cm. 

Note: Jade (yashm) was prized for its prophylactic as well as its visual qualities. It was believed to detect poison, cure eye disease and stomach illness, and to protect against natural calamities such as earthquakes and lightning, and as such, represents a favoured stone for pendant-carving. 

This pendant is expressive of the distinctive unfurling split-palmettes and floral buds that became part of the decorative vocabulary of the international Timurid style which echoed throughout the Islamic world, notably Safavid Persia and Ottoman Turkey. 

A similar pendant was sold in these rooms, 8 October 2008, lot 234. 

Sotheby's. Arts of the Islamic World, London, 20 Apr 2016, 10:30 AM