A 19th Century Ottoman Silver Filigree,
Dressing Table Mirror and some further examples of Ottoman Silver Filigree.
(Post in preparation).
As far as I can tell I am alone in this endeavour to make sense of the origin of 17th, 18th and 19th Century Silver Filigree objects. Many of these objects have been the subject of a series of Chinese (please forgive me any Chinese readers) Whispers. Once one object is described as being from a certain place then the description is used repeatedly without question.
Goa is the obvious example (see Menshikova et al) - Hugo Miguel Crespo of Lisbon University (something of an expert in Portuguese Colonial Art), reliably informs me that there is up to now, absolutely no documentary proof of any silver filigree being manufactured in Goa.
Karimnagar (about 100 miles from Hydrabad) is another example where if the object appears to be Indian it is labelled Karimnagar - again there is no proof of any silver filigree being manufactured there before about 1830. Silver filigree was certainly manufactured in Cuttack (Kattack) Orissa at least from the mid 18th century and probably earlier (more research is needed). It is still produced there today.
Ottoman silver filigree is a case in point - no one to my knowledge has made a study of it and it is therefor misidentified either as Indian (or as is the case here with the little Mayflower pomander below) as German.
This study is very much in its infancy and is liable to review (editing the blog posts is very easy but if edited I will give the date on the post) - my ideas will change as more information comes to light and it becomes possible to make more informed comparisons.
One of the main thrusts of this blog is to attempt to highlight the differences (and similarities) between 17th and 18th Century Silver Filigree manufactured in Europe, the Ottoman Empire, India and South East Asia.
Occasionally I have considered pieces which come outside these parameters, and this extraordinary 19th Century object below is one of those pieces.
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Ottoman Silver Filigree Dressing Table Mirror.
Early 19th Century?
As yet I can find no other piece quite like it, although I illustrate a round mirror below which is of comparable workmanship.
There are distinct similarities with the round mirror illustrated below. It includes the signature lozenge shaped connectors, the curlicues around the edge and the form of the bosses
The Stand is a replacement.
43 cms wide x 41 cms tall.
Lot 226. 18 April 2023. John Nicholson's Salerooms, Haslemere.
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A related Ottoman Silver Filigree Mirror.
Early 19th Century.
Private Collection.
NB in particular the curlicues around the edge of the frame as in the toilet mirror above, the small lozenge shaped connectors and the central boss and the smaller bosses which appear like flowers on stalks .
Size 27 Cms Diameter.
27 cms Diam.
English private collection.
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Size - 32 x 29 cms.
Cambi Auctioneers Silver- a Filigrana Collection - II -Mon 19 May 2014, lot 115.
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Image from the Samakov History Museum, Bulgaria.
no sizes given
It is difficult to make sense of this image but the relationship of the filigree techniques with that on the two mirrors above is quite plain.
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19th Century Ottoman Hand Mirror.
Length 32.7 cms.
Note the signature little lozenge shaped connector on the handle, and the detail of the round bosses
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Silver filigree casket
Previously with Wax Antiques of London.
Height 11.5cm. Top 12 x 9cms.
Wax Antiques suggest Portugal, but given the detailing I would suggest Ottoman 19th Century - perhaps Istanbul.
Note again the little lozenge shaped connectors and the bosses.
More research is need into Ottoman filigree and its origin.
Ottoman encompasses much of the Balkans Greece, Turkey and North Africa.
Images here courtesy Wax Antiques.
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Ottoman Silver Filigree Box, Cambi, 2014.
Width 24 cms.
Note the lozenge shaped connectors hiding the joins
Sold Cambi, Milan, Lot 117, 19 May 2014.
They say Persian 19th Century.
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19th Century Ottoman Coffee Pot with Silver Filigree Mounts.
Note again the small Lozenge shaped connectors.
20 cms tall.
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Ottoman Silver filigree Jar.
Probably 19th Century.
Previously with Michael Backman.
Note the small lozenge shaped connectors.
height: 9.8cm, diameter: 9.3cm,
I am grateful to Michael Backman for allowing me to use his photographs
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Ottoman Filigree Cup and Cover
Height 16.5 cms.
Cambi Lot 116, September 2011.
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Ottoman Silver Filigree Amulet Holder.
Previously with Michael Backman.
Ottoman Turkey, probably Istanbul.
Circa 1850.
length: 10.2cm, width: 2.1cms.
I am very grateful to Michael Backman for allowing me to use his photographs.
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Ottoman? Pomander.
Currently with Mayflower Antiques (May 2023).
They suggest German late 17th Century, but I am inclined to believe Ottoman (probably Istanbul) 18th/19th Century.
3.2
cms in diameter and 1.8 cms tall.
The little lozenge shaped pieces seem to be particular to these Ottoman objects.
Excellent Photographs from Mayflower Antiques website.
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Ottoman Silver Filigree Oval Cassket.
19th Century?
Width 9.5 cms.
Not the signature lozenge shaped connectors and central boss.
Sold Christie's, Lot 176, October 2007.
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18th/ 19th Century Ottoman (suggested) Silver Filigree Dish.
Ottoman Silver Filigree Dish.
Dimensions: diameter 19 cm; height 3.5 cm.
The central boss has very similar work to the bosses on the round mirror above and the oval casket.
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Several related Silver Filigree Caskets.
Suggested here as late 19th Century, Ottoman. perhaps Istanbul.
The motifs with the continued bands of semi circular elements which appear on the circular mirror illustrated above.
The construction and design does not relate to other European, Indian or South East Asian caskets which have been illustrated in my other blog posts.
I believe that they were probably made as cigarette boxes. Turkish cigarettes
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The Coranari Auctions, Ottoman Silver Filigree Casket.
Sold May 2021.
15.1 x 9.8 x 6.2 cms.
Detail showing the continued bands of semi circular design elements.
This detail appears on many of the Ottoman pieces.
The bosses on the lid, clearly visible on the Bonham's Casket (below) have been removed
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The Bonham's Ottoman Silver Filigree Casket.
Sold 10 Dec 2014, lot 83.
Note the continued band which form the main elements of the design.
Height 8cm, length 16cms.
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Ottoman Silver Casket.
8 x17.5 x 9.5 cms.
Sold Bowler and Binnie, Dunfermline, Scotland. Lot 14 4 December 2021.
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Ottoman Casket
Height 6cm, width 15.5cm, depth 8cm.
Sold David Lay, Lot 1020, 12 Aug 2021.
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Mallam's Ottoman Casket.
Mallam's Cheltenham28 Nov. 2019 Lot 304.
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Mellors and Kirk Ottoman Casket.
No size given - lined with cedar to serve as as cigarette box.
Mellors and Kirk Lot 93 - 8 Jul 2015
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AF Brock Ottoman Silver Filigree Casket.
Approx 15 cms wide.
AF Brock Lot 345 22 May 2012.
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Freemans, Silver Filigree Casket.
Freemans Auctions, Lot 350, 30 April 2008.
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Length 11.5 cms.
Hôtel des ventes Élysée, Liege, Belgium. Lot 677, 20 Jun 2023
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Chiswick Auctions Silver Filigree Casket.
Length 14.4 cms,
The underside with a flat chased rosette and Arabic script including أم درمان
They say "A mid 20th Century Sudanese Silver Filigree
Cigarette Box, Omdurman, Circa 1940".
I am not yet convinced of it being Sudanese.
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Ottoman Silver Filigree Box.
Diam. 12 cms.
Sold by auctioneers John Nicholson, Haslemere, Lot 429, 4 May 2022.
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Small Ottoman Silver Filigree Box.
19th Century.
Previously with Dealer James Baldwin of Grays Antique Centre, Mayfair, London.
Width 6.75 cms.
The signature lozenge shaped connectors are obvious on the lid.
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Ottoman Silver Filigree Tray.
Bonham's London - Lot 288, 7 October 2014.
Note the Lozenge shaped pieces of silver used to hide the joins.
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Bonham's South East Asian Rosewater Sprinkler (Gulbapash) and Ottoman Tray.
These objects are not related - the tray is Ottoman - the Sprinkler probably South East Asian, Batavia?
Deatail of the platter showing the continued bands which make up the main design motifs.
Sprinkler 32.5 cm high, tray 28 cm.
nb. the very similar design elements to the two caskets above, particularly the continued bands which make up the main design features.
Lot 156 - 9 -16 November 2021
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Drouot, Paris, Ottoman Casket.
7.5 x 11 x 6.3 cms.
NB. The Lozenge shaped connectors.
17 May 2023.
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Pair of Ottoman Silver Filigree Pistols.
Decorated with Silver Filigree.
Barrels 24cms, overall 38.5cms.
Pair of Ottoman Turkish Silver Mounted Flintlock Holster
Pistols c.1830.
C and T Auctions 6 Jan 2021. Lot 255.
More photographs on their website
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Parcel Gilt, Silver Filigree and Enamel Censer.
Christie's, Lot 397, 24 April 2015.
Catalogued as Ottoman, Anotolia? 18th Century.
21.6 cms tall.
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