Suspension en forme de sphère

Turkey, Iznik or Kutahya, 16th-18th century Spherical element in siliceous ceramic, with polychrome enameled decoration in reserve under a transparent glaze. The decoration is very finely executed, in reserve on a cobalt-blue ground enhanced with turquoise and red, composed of large palmettes or "saz" leaves and jagged tulips, all surmounted by a line of three-lobed fleurons. Condition: general wear to the glaze. Diameter: 19 cm Apart from the aesthetic pleasure it provides, the function of spherical hanging ornaments is ambiguous. Smaller ornamental spheres are known to have been suspended from ceramic mosque lamps, whose function was above all symbolic. In a religious context, its sumptuous floral decorations would have alluded to the gardens of paradise, or the orb of heaven. Two examples very close to our piece are known, dating from the late 16th century. One is in the British Museum, with a slight difference in the lower part of the sphere (Inv. n°G.120), the other in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. The matte appearance of the present piece is probably due to a firing defect. Provenance : Former Belgian private collection.