Art News

Turkish flask from 1575 with links to Egypt’s Presidential Palace for sale at Bonhams

LONDON.- A 16th century Iznik bottle flask from a private Belgian collection with an interesting history linking it to current events in Egypt is one of the top items in Bonhams next sale of Indian and Islamic art on October 4th. The flask comes from the family of the man whose company was commissioned to build the Heliopolis Palace Hotel in Egypt which later became the Presidential Palace of recently-deposed Egyptian Prime Minister Hosni Mubarak. It is estimated to sell for £60,000-80,000. Iznik pottery and tiles have long held a special place in the minds and hearts of European collectors. The town itself lies in the Marmara region of Turkey and for 200 years, between the 15th and 17th centuries, was the major centre of ceramic production for the Ottoman Empire. Within the lexicon of shapes and types of this highly-regarded pottery, the bottle flask is held in particular esteem. Examples exist in the Calouste Gulbenkian Mu