This has a 1930s provenance to a private Egyptian collection, now dispersed, elements of which have yielded some notable results in previous Islamic sales, most particularly the blue and white candlestick sold at Sotheby’s in 1993 for £560,000.
The rare feature of Bonhams’ tile is its symmetrical design of two confronting parrots. Figural designs on Isnik tiles are extremely rare and the other four known examples in this series are all in museums. A rare opportunity, then, to purchase the only known version in private hands and it sold for £45,000, a price towards the upper estimate. It could perhaps have made even more but Turkish economic difficulties seem to have suppressed demand from that quarter.
Bonhams had a particularly strong Turkish section to their sale that included a good, wide-ranging single-owner collection of Kutahya pottery, yet this met with a somewhat muted response. One of the Kutahya pieces that did find particular favour, however, was the blue and white pottery incense burner shown here, dated to the first half of the 18th century that fetched a treble estimate £22,000.
Isnik tile and blue and white pottery incense burner
One of the high points of Bonhams & Brooks’ May 2 sale in the London Islamic Series of sales was a 10in (25cm) square Isnik tile, pictured, dated to c.1580.
