A Safavid blue and white dish, Persia, Circa 1500

A Safavid blue and white dish, Persia,  Circa 1500

of rounded form, decorated in underglaze cobalt blue against a clean white with a large central medallion enclosing a hare set under a curving tree, the cavetto depicting floral sprays, with a wave-like pattern along the rim. 32.3cm. diam. Estimate 130,000—180,000 USD

PROVENANCE: ex-Private Collection, Paris

NOTE: This beautiful dish is one of the best known examples of early blue and white Safavid pottery. A hare is set under a tree amidst a rocky landscape. Floral sprays decorate the cavetto of the dish, while a wave-like pattern along the rim echoes the "wave and rock" patterns typical of contemporary Chinese porcelain.

The perfect balance of the overall composition, combined with the tight control of the brush employed for the main subject, generate energy and tension and yet stillness and true monumentality. The deep cobalt blue, against the clean white of the background together with the rich, translucent glaze make this dish a superb example of this particular production.

Only two other plates are known which show the same design as this example. One is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (published: Lane, A., Later Islamic Pottery. Persia, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, London, 1957, no.21b); the other (broken) example is in a private collection (published: Colnaghi, Persian and Mughal Art, The Rothschild and Binney Collections, London, 1976, no. 144).

Sotheby's. Arts of the Islamic World. 19 Mar 09. Doha www.sothebys.com photo courtesy Sotheby's