Gilded copper ewer (tombak) Turkey, Ottoman art,... Lot 39

Gilded copper ewer (tombak) Turkey, Ottoman art, 18th century pyriform, the body slightly flattened, the neck truncated and ringed, the lid screwed rounded and tapered, topped by a button, the handle sinuous, the spout lanceolate and plugged at its end by a stopper held by a chain of gilded copper (tombak); the body, neck and lid richly decorated with floral decoration, engraved and chased H. 33,5 cm Provenance : Former French Private Collection, then by descent. Comparison : A ewer very similar to ours sold at Christie's London, 23 April 2015, lot 190. A very similar ewer is kept in the collection of the Louvre Museum, (MAO 2260 Achat, 2013). A pair of tombak ewers exhibited in the Kyburg Gallery, London, in 1988 are of exactly the same shape as this one and are decorated with very similar decoration composed of acanthus leaves and floral sprays. Both of those ewers retained their chains linking the screwing stoppers and lids to the bodies. This type of ewer was supposedly made to bring back holy water from the well of zam zam after the pilgrimage to Mecca (E. Grünberg & E. M. Torn, Four Centuries of Ottoman Taste, London, 1988, cat.40). Another comparable ewer is in the Aron Collection (James W. Allan, Metalwork of the Islamic World, p.114-5, cat.24). With another ewer of related form sold in these Rooms, 5 October 2010, lot 317, they are all very good examples of the Ottoman baroque style which starts developing during the reign of Ahmed III (r.1703-1730). AN OTTOMAN GILT-COPPER (TOMBAK) EWER TURKEY, 18TH CENTURY