A rare Ottoman Tombak water flask (matara), Turkey, 2nd half 16th century

the body formed in the style of a leather water flask with short curved spout at one end, a supension loop to the shoulder and narrow cylindrical neck, resting on a stepped-down decagonal foot, decorated allover with punched, stippled and engraved arabesques and vegetal motifs, the longer sides with reticulated roundels pierced with six-pointed stars

Overall in good condition. some very minor abrasions to the base of the flask. some rubbing to the overlay, as viewed.
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This matara is a refined example of a type of vessel that was probably widely used in Turkey during the 16th century. Adorned at the centre with an openwork Solomonic seal and decorated allover with fantastic flowerheads, scrolls and split palmettes in the rumi hayati style, the voluminous harp shape typifies the water flasks produced for court circles in the age of Suleyman the Magnificent (r.1520-1566). The flowing quality of the rumi and delicate stipple of the ground relieving the ornament, date this piece to the second half of the 16th century and the efflorescence of Ottoman tombak. The integration of openwork casting, relief moulding and incising techniques compares with some of the highest quality court vessels of the sixteenth century, when metalwork attained great opulence and refinement.

Two tombak flasks which share the lyre-form profile and incised foliation are in museum collections. One is in the British Museum (inv. no. 97-3-20 1, see Petsopoulos 1982, p.35) has been ascribed to the 16th century but is most probably later in date. That in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. no. 1984.100, see Welch, S.C., The Islamic World, New York, 1987, p.125) is dated to the 17th century. The British Museum flask stands on a chamfered foot and is the same height as the Sotheby's piece: 19.7 cm. Yet, the comparatively simple style and fabrication of these museum pieces suggests that they date later than the Sotheby's vessel. The foliate elements are less fluid, the decorative patterns are shallow and formulaic, and sculptural detailing is reduced. Such work is typical of 17th century production.

Closer in style is a splendid flask of gilded and appliquéd leather, presented around 1590 by Sultan Murad III (r.1574-1595) to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (r.1576-1612) and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. C.28, see Roxburgh 2005, p.365, no.357), which further suggests a dating for the Sotheby's piece to the late 16th century. Another leather flask, dated to the first half of the 17th century and embellished with silver, gold and precious stones, travelled to Russia, where it was presented to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by Tsarevich Seid-Burkhan Arsalanovich in 1653 (inv. no. TK-2882, see Levykin, A., The Tsars and the East: Gifts from Turkey and Iran in the Moscow Kremlin, Washington, D.C., 2009, pp.66-7). These imperial gifts stand out amongst a small group of extant leather flasks which indicate the significance of the Ottoman matara. A further example is in the National Museum in Warsaw (inv. no. SKAZsz 2270, see Müzesi, T., War & Peace: Ottoman-Polish Relations in the 15th-19th centuries, Istanbul, 1999, p.115, no.14). Two more are in the Furusiyya Foundation Collection (inv. nos. R-731 and R-733, see Mohamed 2007, pp.280-1) And another example was sold at Antik A. S. in Istanbul on 5 December 1993 (Sale 157, Lot 175, see "Muzayedelerden Sectiklerimiz," Antik & Dekor, sayı:23, Istanbul, 1994, p.150).

Similarities with these flasks: the presence of the Solomonic seal on the Vienna and Warsaw examples, the articulated collars, curvaceous silhouettes and scale of the scrollwork and vessels overall, suggest contiguity of production. Details of the Sotheby's flask also imitate the leather vessels, notably the dotted lines and stippled ground resemble fine stitching on grained leather, while the central medallion, edges and foot are embellished with mock cording. Pieces of appliqué leather work were often presented as tribute at court, which suggests again that the Sotheby's matara was a close imitation of luxury court production.

Supreme among all Ottoman mataras is the gold vessel which survives in Topkapi Saray Treasury (inv. no. 2/3825, see Atil 1987, p.123). Overlaid with flowers and set with fabulous jewels, this was a royal commission made for Suleyman the Magnificent (r.1520-1566) or his son, Selim II (r.1566-74). The flask held the Sultan's drinking water and was carried in court processions. Its association with the ruler is confirmed by contemporary illustrations of the period and may even be implied by the appearance of the Solomonic seal, associated with Suleyman, which features prominently on the Sotheby's flask as well as some of the other afore-mentioned examples.

While the matara originated on the plains of Central Asia as the humble canteen of nomadic horsemen, the Sotheby's flask suggests the prestige this object achieved under the Ottomans. Functional aspects of the leather prototype are here refined for the sake of elegance. The spout follows the sinuous line of the profile and the braided seams become borders of continuous scrolls, while the sculpted shoulders, bowing gussets, and high foot endow the vessel with refined grandeur.