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Pilgrim flask
Ottoman period
probably 19th century
Object Place: Kütahya, Turkey
Medium/Technique
Fritware (stonepaste), white slip with polychrome enamels under transparent glaze
Dimensions
Height x width: 16.5 x 13.8 x 7.5 cm (6 1/2 x 5 7/16 x 2 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of George Washington Wales
Accession Number85.262
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Islamic Art
ClassificationsCeramics
Kutahya is an ancient Turkish city on the southern edge of the Anatolian plateau, close to deposits of many minerals used by potters. Ceramics have been produced there for at least 1,000 years. Around the 15th century Kutahya potters began to work with fritware, an artificially-created ceramic material that, when fired with an opaque white glaze, nearly rivaled the qualities of much-prized Chinese porcelain.
Ceramics made in Kutahya continued to evolve after the court-sponsored kilns of Iznik ceased firing in the 1600s, and it reached a peak in the 18th century. As at Iznik, potters made both tiles and a wide variety of hollow wares. Much of it was painted, under a transparent glaze, using the Iznik colors of black, blue, turquoise, green and raised red, but adding a bright yellow. Kutahya specialized in small pieces, such as tea services or small plates. Decorative motifs tended to be small in scale. The potters could be Christian or Muslim. Most were from a large Armenian community, and production included pieces intended for church display.
The MFA is fortunate that two of its most generous early patrons, George Washington Wales and Denman Waldo Ross, having acquired about fifty Kutahya pieces between them, bequeathed them to the Museum around 1900. Although many of the pots are fragmentary, they showcase well the variety and individuality of the potters’ styles.
Ceramics made in Kutahya continued to evolve after the court-sponsored kilns of Iznik ceased firing in the 1600s, and it reached a peak in the 18th century. As at Iznik, potters made both tiles and a wide variety of hollow wares. Much of it was painted, under a transparent glaze, using the Iznik colors of black, blue, turquoise, green and raised red, but adding a bright yellow. Kutahya specialized in small pieces, such as tea services or small plates. Decorative motifs tended to be small in scale. The potters could be Christian or Muslim. Most were from a large Armenian community, and production included pieces intended for church display.
The MFA is fortunate that two of its most generous early patrons, George Washington Wales and Denman Waldo Ross, having acquired about fifty Kutahya pieces between them, bequeathed them to the Museum around 1900. Although many of the pots are fragmentary, they showcase well the variety and individuality of the potters’ styles.
DescriptionMolded flat bottle (matara). Designs outlined in black and filled in with turquoise, blue, dull red, and manganese purple; both faces decorated with a large central flower that is upside-down when the bottle is upwards, paired leaves on either side of the central flower and floral sprigs above, four similar sprigs run around the sides
ProvenanceBefore 1885, bought for 15 lire in Italy by Mr. George Washington Wales (b. 1815 – d. 1896), Boston; 1885, gift to the MFA of George Washington Wales. (Accession Date: June 16, 1885)