Fritware bottle, painted in blue, green, and black and with a red slip under a transparent glaze
Turkey, Iznik; c. 1600
H: 44 cm
This type of bottle with a bulge on its long neck is fairly common in Iznik production from the 16th century. The artist who made this piece depicted some of the light, fast ships with lateen sails that were used in both the Ottoman merchant marine and the navy. In a naïve yet refined fashion, he endeavored to capture the green sea as well as the blue sky behind the distended sails.
Although the Ottomans did their best to gain dominion over the Mediterranean, the Turkish ships were no match for the big European vessels, and in 1571, the Turkish fleet was definitively defeated at Lepanto.
Inv. no. 11/1971
Published in:
André Leth: Davids Samling. Islamisk kunst = The David Collection. Islamic Art, København 1975, pp. 103-104;
Kjeld von Folsach: Davids Samling gennem 24 år, 1962-1985 = The David Collection: a 24-year period: 1962-1985, København 1985, pp. 64-65;
Art from the World of Islam. 8th-18th century, Louisiana, Humlebæk 1987, cat.no. 209;
Nurhan Atasoy and Julian Raby: Iznik: the pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London 1989, fig. 531;
Kjeld von Folsach: Islamic art. The David Collection, Copenhagen 1990, cat.no.201;
Kjeld von Folsach, Torben Lundbæk and Peder Mortensen (eds.): Sultan, Shah and Great Mughal: the history and culture of the Islamic world, The National Museum, Copenhagen 1996, cat.no. 181;
Brigitte Tietzel: ”Der wundersame Kurs der Schiffe des Süleyman: eine neuerworbene Fayence-Deckelvase” in Kölner Museums-Bulletin, 1997, Heft 1, p. 9, Abb. 5;
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat.no. 276;
Walter B. Denny: Iznik: the artistry of Ottoman ceramics, London 2004, p. 180;
