Bowl

The decorative arts flourished in Turkey under the royal patronage of the Ottomans, who built an empire that extended from Iraq to eastern Europe and North Africa. The sixteenth century in particular as a “golden age” in the history of Ottoman art and architecture. During this time, bookbinding, painting, glassmaking, textile weaving, pottery, and wood and stone carving prospered; a high level of technical mastery was reached in each of these crafts. Decorated metalwork was another important component of Ottoman court production. In fact, several of the Ottoman sultans, including Suleyman I and Selim I, were trained as goldsmiths, a sign of the esteem in which this craft was held. The royal workshops or imperial design guilds catered to the Ottoman taste for luxury, producing a dazzling array of vessels in precious metals for the sultan’s personal service.

This silver bowl is probably an example of such imperial workmanship, reflecting the refined elegance characteristic of sixteenth-century court production. Because the vessel’s walls are relatively thick, the artist was able to develop separate, independent schemes of decoration on the inner and the outer surfaces, an impressive feat on such a small object.

The medallion in the center of the bowl's interior, enameled in green, turquoise, and black, was fashioned separately and added to the vessel, perhaps by the owner after it was purchased.