Pear-shaped perfume bottle consisting of two large plaques of jade, the front encrusted with rubies and green sapphires in gold collar mounts, the back decorated with incised, symmetrically designed gold rumis, gilded silver mounts framing the body on both sides, decorated with khatayi blossoms set with rubies and green sapphires, the cover and the base decorated with a band of blue and black enamel, the cap finial connected to the body with 18 karat gold chains.

Jade always had a special place in Islamic culture, especially in Timurid, Mughal and Ottoman art. Timur’s jade cenotaph (Samarkand, Uzbekistan), Ulugh Beg’s jug (Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, inv. no. 328), Timurid prince Miranshah’s seal (State Hermitage Museum, SA-8481), the wine cup of Mughal emperor Jahangir (Victoria & Albert Museum, inv. no. IM.152-1924) can be counted among important Islamic royal jades which have survived to this day.

The present flask is closely related to some renowned and well-documented masterpieces produced in the Ottoman court workshop now preserved in the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul. The most striking comparison is a bejewelled and enamelled clock -the earliest recorded Ottoman enamelled artwork-, signed by the Armenian court artist Shahin, in the Topkapi Palace Museum treasury (Inv. No. 53/85). Please see, Feza Çakmut, Şule Gürbüz, Topkapi Sarayi Saat Koleksiyonu – Dünyanın Kıskandığı Saatler, Istanbul, 2012, pp. 56-57.

The back side of the flask features a highly sophisticated application of ‘dotted rumi’ decoration. This type of decoration was favoured by the Ottoman court workshop in the second half of the 16th century. The jade flap of a 16th century Ottoman Qur’an binding (inv. no. 2/2121) in the Topkapi Palace treasury features identical dotted rumis. Please see, Emine Bilirgen, Süheyla Murat, Topkapi Palace – The Imperial Treasury, Istanbul, 2001, p. 109.

The exceptionally high quality of workmanship and attention to detail sets this flask aside as a special production of the Ottoman court workshop, and suggests that it was possibly intended to be a diplomatic gift. Among the comparable art works from the Topkapi Palace Museum treasury, the resemblance between the dotted rumi decoration on the reverse of the flask and the jade flap of the 16th century Ottoman jade Qur’an binding (inv. no. 2/2121), mentioned above, is particularly striking. The close resemblance -of floral decoration and the use of the same enamel- between the flask and the above-mentioned clock, also in the Topkapi Palace Museum treasury, supports the attribution to master Shahin. For further information and references please see the article in our Tefaf Maastricht catalogue, When Elephants Walked with Kings - Imperial Courts and Artistic Splendour from Morocco to India, London, 2026, pp.92-97.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr Julian Raby for his generous assistance and valuable contributions during the research and preparation of this article.