Beschreibung:

AN IZNIK-STYLE POTTERY BASIN Ulisse Cantagalli, Florence, Italy, late 19th century The vase with bulbous body and straight rim, the painted decoration consisting of three main registers of dotted tulip sprays rising from green cintamanis, on blue field, the base with maker's mark, 23.5cm diam. Provenance: Christie's South Kensington, 21 October 2016, lot 212. In the 19th century, collecting Islamic works of art became a major trend across Europe, which possibly led several European craftsmen to draw inspiration from the captivating shapes of Islamic artworks and produce their own interpretation of them. This trend is particularly evident in the field of ceramics and most specifically, Iznik pottery was one of the favourite models frequently ‘reinvented’ by makers such as Samson, Theodore Deck and Cantagalli. As a perfect example, this basin was produced in Florence by the Manifattura Cantagalli, which was founded in 1878 by Ulisse Cantagalli (1839-1901) and his brother Giuseppe. Two Cantagalli bottles with the same iconography of paired tulips on blue ground sold at Christie's South Kensington, 9 October 2015, lot 448 and 22 April 2016, lot 419.