AN IZNIK POTTERY DISH, OTTOMAN, TURKEY, CIRCA 1600

Of typical form, the interior decorated with a masted ship at sea in bole-red, blue, green and manganese on white ground, the rim with ‘wave and rock’ pattern in black and blue, the exterior with four roundels in black and blue. 32.2 cm. diam.

CATALOGUE NOTE Istanbul was a lively center of trade, and many ships, both Turkish and Western, called at its harbor. Most of the Turkish vessels were light, fast ships with lateen sails. Western European galleys were much heavier, and this dish shows a monumental oceangoing three-master on the raging sea. What were presumably the muzzles of threatening cannons were transformed by the Turkish potter into flowerheads.