This elegant jug is reminiscent of older Timurid examples which were mainly made of metal or jade and is a testament to the strong link which connected the Ottoman taste to its Timurid ancestor. Although the prototype of the shape is Central Asian, the technique used to decorate the body in Ottoman times is quite different from the Timurid pieces, which were usually inlaid with gold or silver. Ottoman specimens present a decoration applied through hammering and chiselling, a technique which created a high-relief effect. The motifs of interlacing scrolls and half-palmettes also have their origin in the Timurid tradition but their aesthetic changed to adapt to Ottoman taste, with more defined floral scrolls and stems, creating spirals which are found also in other medium, from ceramic to textiles and works on paper.
This jug is part of a small group of vessels dated to the sixteenth century which are all characterised by the same bulbous shape, decoration and technique; the closest to this piece are in the David Collection and in the National Museum of Art of Romania both examples have the same gilding on the foot as well as bottom and upper neck.

Bibliography

von Folsach 2001
K. von Folsach, Arts from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen, 2001.

1. See for example a lidded jug now in the British Museum, made of brass inlaid with silver and gold. British Museum, London, inv.no.1878,1230.731.
2. For a full list of other examples belonging to this group, see Sotheby’s London, 6 October 2010, lot 320,
3. David Collection, Copenhagen, inv.no.15/1986; published in von Folsach 2001, no.531, p.330.
4. The National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest, inv.14288/M 1651; published in the database of https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/.

This elegant jug is reminiscent of older Timurid examples which were mainly made of metal or jade and is a testament to the strong link which connected the Ottoman taste to its Timurid ancestor. Although the prototype of the shape is Central Asian, the technique used to decorate the body in Ottoman times is quite different from the Timurid pieces, which were usually inlaid with gold or silver. Ottoman specimens present a decoration applied through hammering and chiselling, a technique which created a high-relief effect. The motifs of interlacing scrolls and half-palmettes also have their origin in the Timurid tradition but their aesthetic changed to adapt to Ottoman taste, with more defined floral scrolls and stems, creating spirals which are found also in other medium, from ceramic to textiles and works on paper.
This jug is part of a small group of vessels dated to the sixteenth century which are all characterised by the same bulbous shape, decoration and technique; the closest to this piece are in the David Collection and in the National Museum of Art of Romania both examples have the same gilding on the foot as well as bottom and upper neck.

Bibliography

von Folsach 2001
K. von Folsach, Arts from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen, 2001.

1. See for example a lidded jug now in the British Museum, made of brass inlaid with silver and gold. British Museum, London, inv.no.1878,1230.731.
2. For a full list of other examples belonging to this group, see Sotheby’s London, 6 October 2010, lot 320,
3. David Collection, Copenhagen, inv.no.15/1986; published in von Folsach 2001, no.531, p.330.
4. The National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest, inv.14288/M 1651; published in the database of https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/.