A large and rare turquoise-glazed pottery figure of a monkey, probably Kashan, Iran, circa 1200

A variety and number of monochrome ceramic figures are known from Iran at this time, all made in moulds and decorated in a variety of glazes: lustre (see lot 104), monochrome cobalt or turquoise and underglaze painting. The size and quality of the pieces varies widely which suggests they were made to suit both the tastes and pockets of a wide spectrum of society. This is confirmed by the subject matter which has a popular appeal - the monkeys with their hats and comic, quasi-human appearance may have represented a folk character whose identity it is now impossible to establish.

There is a group of glazed ceramic monkey figurines all seated in this distinctive crouched position with hands resting on the knee. Like this one, four of the comparable objects are made as closed decorative objects but are much smaller (6.4-13 cms) and do not wear hats (Berlin Museum fur Islamische Kunst no. I.4349, unpublished; San Francisco, Asian Arts Museum, no. BP60P1923, see ‘Fabulous creatures, animals and plants in Iranian art’, Apollo vol. 112, 1980, pp.117-123, fig.8; Sotheby’s, Antiquities & Islamic Art, 23 June 1989, lot 249; and, David Collection, Copenhagen, no.8.1968, unpublished).

A turquoise glazed monkey in the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge is also large (20.6cm. high) but was made as a vessel with one pouring spout extending from the space between the hands and another behind the neck (see Treasures from the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge 1989, no. 22).  Like the present lot the Fitzwilliam monkey wears a hat but with a pointed crown. Performing monkeys, dressed in costume and accompanied by their trainers were a familiar sight at fairs and festivals across the Islamic world and were said to bring good fortune (EI2, ‘Kird’).

This piece comes with a thermo-luminescence report from Oxford certifying that the result obtained is consistent with the suggested date of circa A.D. 1200.

Sotheby's is grateful to Melanie Gibson for assistance in cataloguing this and the preceding lot.