Lot 188. An Iznik polychrome pottery jug with tulips and rosette sprays, Turkey, circa 1560-75; 35.5cm. diam. Estimate £10,000 - £15,000. © Sotheby's.
fritware, painted underglaze in cobalt blue, turquoise, and bole red with light brown and black outlines, decorated with alternating rosette sprays and tulips on two registers, underside of foot with old collector's labels: 'S.Lago', '8060', '12' and a circular label loose on interior 'STEFANOS LAGONIKOS [in Greek] No.9'.
Provenance: Ex-collection Stefanos Lagonikos, no.9.
Stefanos Lagonikos gathered an outstanding collection of Iznik pottery. The collection began just before the First World War, when Stefanos Lagonikos was living in Alexandria, Egypt. Fellow Greek expatriates such as Anthony Benaki and the art historian Ch.A. Nomikos pioneered a new approach and curiosity towards Islamic art, leading to an exhibition in Alexandria in 1925, to which Stefanos Lagonikos lent a significant amount of pieces. An important feature of the objects in the Lagonikos collection are the labels on the bases, which give us a glimpse of each piece’s history and previous owners. Following the family’s move to France in 1937, the collection was subsequently inherited by his son Jean and sold by Sotheby's Monaco in the auction La Collection Lagonico in 1991. Another example from his collection is offered in this sale (lot 190).
Sotheby's. Arts of the Islamic World, London, 24 oct. 2018, 10:30 AM