AN OTTOMAN GILT COPPER (TOMBAK) BOWL AND COVER

Of deep rounded form on a stepped, splayed foot, the lid of domed form with brass knop finial, the body and lid engraved with undulating bands alternately filled with floral vines and palmette motifs, inscription to foot. Footnotes Inscriptions: sahibü'l-hayrat kapucuk-dari gürci osman ağa'nın sofa-i hassa ocağına vakfıdur fi 25 z sene 1233, 'Pious endowment (vakıf) of the munificent Gatekeeper Gürci Osman Ağa to the Corps of the Imperial Terrace on 25th z (i.e. Dhu'l-Qa'ada) year 1233 (26 September 1818).'

The Sofa Ocağı was the corps of Terrace Keepers in the Topkapi Palace. This lidded bowl was presumably endowed to a mosque or charitable foundation associated with them.