Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets
Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets
A rare Ottoman miquelet-lock rifle with ivory and mother of pearl mounts, Turkey, mid-18th century
Auction Closed
October 27, 03:41 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
the pattern-welded barrel chiselled with gold overlaid design at each end, decorated throughout with natural and green-stained ivory and marine-ivory, featuring a multitude of inlaid mosaic roundels designed with hexagrams and stars, incised silver plaques, notably around barrel, the stock with bands of mother-of-pearl, brass studs and raised plaques set with coloured stones, the toothed flintlock with gilt-overlaid motifs, the barrel clasped to the understock by capuchines of gilt-brass engraved with a foliate design
156cm.
This lot contains ivory. Sotheby's recommends that buyers check with their own
government regarding any importation requirements prior to placing a bid. For
example, US regulations restrict the import of elephant ivory and prohibit the
import of African elephant ivory. Please note that Sotheby's will not assist buyers
with CITES licence applications where a buyer elects to either collect or arrange
their own shipping, nor will Sotheby's assist with the international movement of
ivory by air, either as freight or through hand carry. Sotheby's shipping will only
assist in shipping the lot to either domestic UK or EU destinations, where delivery
is made by road transport. Please note that CITES licences are required for the
export of any restricted species from the UK, including to EU countries. A buyer's
inability to export or import these lots cannot justify a delay in payment or sale
cancellation.
It is thought that this rare type of gun bearing white and green-stained ivory decoration was made for the bodyguard of the Ottoman sultan. Traditionally ascribed to the late seventeenth/early eighteenth century (Paris 1988, nos.42 and 43), a dated example in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London (d.1191 AH/1777-8 AD) suggests that the whole group should be reassigned to a later period (Alexander 1992, pp.128-9, no.73). Michael Rogers, however, convincingly points to documentation that such pieces were certainly manufactured in seventeenth century Istanbul: "In his account of Bitlis in 1655-6, Evliya Celebi gives a list of muskets by the most reputed makers allegedly in the collection of Abdal Khan, the ruler of that principality. Among the Istanbul masters, he lists Memi, Kuçuk Omer, Uzun Mehmed and Kara Mehmed Ketbeli as specialists in jewelling and encrustation" (Rogers 1995, p.154).
Comparable examples of ivory-inlaid Ottoman guns are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no.32.75.270), the Military Museum in Istanbul (Washington 2000, p.160, no.E25), the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (inv. no.M.49-1946), the Wallace Collection, London (Laking 1914, no.2091) and in a private collection (see von Folsach, Meyer and Wandel 2021, p.269, no.150). A similar example was sold in these rooms, 7 October 2015, lot 405.
Comparable examples of ivory-inlaid Ottoman guns are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no.32.75.270), the Military Museum in Istanbul (Washington 2000, p.160, no.E25), the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (inv. no.M.49-1946), the Wallace Collection, London (Laking 1914, no.2091) and in a private collection (see von Folsach, Meyer and Wandel 2021, p.269, no.150). A similar example was sold in these rooms, 7 October 2015, lot 405.