A fine Ottoman silver-gilt, gold and enamelled Asurelik, Turkey, early 19th century

The present asurlik is a rare example of Ottoman manufactured enamelwork of the early nineteenth century, emblematic of the European influence on Ottoman taste.

The origin of late Ottoman enamels is unclear, but it is known that many enamelworks were imported from Central and Northern Europe. Glass presents the most analogous art form with which to compare the creation of Ottoman enamelwork pieces, both reflective of the cultural exchange between the Ottoman Empire and its neighbours. Networks of production and distribution within European and Ottoman relations initiated a dynamic and lucrative market. Since the fourteenth century, shared motifs and colours were used in both Anatolia and Italy. In ceramic production for example, the European encounters with Ottoman designs resulted in creations of assimilated and reinterpreted designs. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, when mass-produced European glass products appeared, the Ottomans adapted to these new conditions by learning European production methods (S.A. Somel, Historical Dictionary of the Ottoman Empire, Scarecrow Press, May 2003, pp.99-100). During the same period, glass factories were established by Turkish artisans trained in European cities, such as Beykoz, founded by a Turkish craftsman who trained at Murano during the reign of Selim III (r.1789-1807) (Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set, Oxford University Press, p.116). Imitations of Venetian gilded glass, French Opalines and high-quality enamels were produced.

The fabrication of enamel consists of crushing glass and applying it to the surface using a binder. The glass is then once again fired so that the crushed glass fuses to the surface by heating the enamel just to the extent of melting to the surface without re-melting it (Annales du 18e congrès de l’association internationale pour l’histoire du verre, pp.469-489). The use of this technique by Ottoman craftsmen led them to produce artefacts which could compete against the European imports made for the Middle Eastern market and even surpass them.

Just as Ottoman glassmakers crafted heavily-adorned, sophisticated and challenging objects such as flower vases, kettles, candlesticks, bowls and sweets containers, created to impress the most noble of patrons, analogous examples exist in enamel. The Topkapi palace treasury is filled with ornately decorated enamel objects that resemble the present example, notably, a very similar ewer, dated to the nineteenth century (inv. no.1886, published in The Topkapi Saray Museum: The Treasury, ed. J.M. Rogers, C. Koseoglu, Thames and Hudson, 1987, p.204, no.98). The painted design is associated with the painted porcelains made at the Imperial factory in Istanbul in the mid-nineteenth century. Further comparable objects in the treasury include: a dessert service which includes a tray, two covered cups, a pot and three spoons (inv. no.7600), a rose-water flask (inv. no.3501), and a writing set (inv. nos.2/769/778)(ibid., pp.203-5, nos.96-97, 113). For further examples see Istanbul: The City and the Sultan, exh. catalogue, De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, 2006, p.108, no.136. and p.128, no.183.