A Safavid blue and white bottle vase, Persia, 17th century

Please note that there may be restrictions on the import of property of Iranian origin into the USA and some or all member countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council. Any buyers planning to import property of Iranian origin into any of these countries should satisfy themselves of the relevant import regime. Sotheby's will not assist buyers with the shipment of such items into the USA or the GCC. In addition, FedEx and US courier services will no longer carry Iranian-origin goods to any location. Any shipment services would need to be provided by a Fine Art shipping company.

Acquired at Michel Meyer, 1980s.

This bottle was clearly created after a Chinese original, such models being particularly popular in the seventeenth century transitional period (see, for example, Sotheby's New York, Important Chinese Art, 11 September 2019, lot 610 & Sotheby's London, Chinese Art, 15 June 2020, lot 8). After the Ming dynasty fell in 1644 and imperial patronage of ceramics collapsed, the international export of blue and white porcelain was severely disrupted. As a result, Safavid potters aimed to imitate Chinese vessels to dynamise domestic markets (Golombek & Reilly 2013, p.22). See also a Safavid bottle in the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv. no.1245-1876, published in Crowe 2002, p.151, cat. no.236).