A FINE OTTOMAN GILT-COPPER (TOMBAK) EWER AND BASIN
TURKEY, EARLY 18TH CENTURY
Estimate: £30,000 - £50,000
Auction: 11 December 2024 from 10:00 GMT
Description
the ewer of truncated pyriform body with tall waisted neck, applied ‘s’-shaped spout and handle, hinged dome-shaped lid with stylised cone-shaped finial, hammered, engraved and punched with repeat floral garland decoration, together with a large basin and detachable openwork filter with a ring band of raised boteh-shaped bosses
Dimensions
Ewer: 33.5cm high; Basin: 37.5cm diameter
Provenance
Private Belgian Collection.
Footnote
Tombak is a term used to describe a copper alloy that is mercury gilded to imitate the appearance of gold - a term that has become synonymous with crafts of the Ottoman Empire. According to the teachings (Hadith) of the Prophet Mohammad, the use of gold in daily objects represented extravagance and wastefulness. It is for this reason that tombak-ware was prized as an alternative to gold. The earliest examples date to the 16th century and tend to be confined to the Ottoman Imperial court arms and armour and important religious vessels such as mosque candlesticks and mataras. The 17th and 18th centuries saw an emergence of more domestic vessels, such as this superb ewer and basin.
Ewers and basins were used at ceremonial events and gatherings for the washing of hands and ablution - an important custom in Muslim daily prayers. The present ewer and basin is a very fine example of tombak-ware from the 18th century on account of its almost pristine layer of gilt. It is richly decorated in the rococo-style which became very popular in the 18th century.
For a comparable Ottoman tombak ewer and basin inscribed with the name of the Valide Sultan, the mother of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648-1687), see Tulay Gungen et al, Tombak, Golden Grace, Istanbul, 2018, p. 67.