Ottoman Silver Jug

Gilded & Engraved Ottoman Timurid-Style Silver Jug with Tughras

This silver jug or tankard is from the Ottoman empire, probably Istanbul, and is marked with prominent assay marks and tughras on both the handle and on the neck. It has a flattened, bulbous body which sits on a low, circular foot. A neck rises to a rimmed mouth. A zoomorphic and pieced handle is attached to the body and neck, and is very much in the Timurid Style.

The surface is chased with interlaced arabesques. Originally, the jug was gilded (gold plated). Remnants of gilding remain.

The form of the jug mirrors those produced in Ottoman Turkey and the Balkans in the sixteenth century. In turn, these drew inspiration on similar jugs produced in fifteenth century Timurid Iran. See Lot 157, Christie’s South Kensington, ‘Indian and Islamic Art and Textiles’, October 14, 2005 for a related example attributed to the nineteenth century.

Silver was believed to have a purifying effect on water and so silver was often used for the drinking vessels of the wealthy and nobles.

al Khemir, S., From Cordoba to Samarqand: Masterpieces from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Musee du Louvre Editons/5 Continents, 2006.

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