A Kütahya bowl with lid in the Walters Art Museum – Yolande Crowe - 25.1.
2007 - 1/8
A Kütahya bowl with lid in the Walters Art Museum
Yolande Crowe
Forthcoming in: Journal of the Walters Art Museum in honour of Hiram W Woodward Jr.
My first acquaintance with Woody was in Ann
Arbor where our offices were close to each
other; our paths crossed again on my first
visit to my family in Baltimore. At the time
my research was concerned with Persian blue
and white ceramics of the 17th century, and
in the stores of the Walters Art Museum
Woody brought to my notice some interesting
examples which allowed me to make better
sense of certain Chinese elements visible on
the decoration of Safavid vessels. In the
stores we also discussed other ceramics of
the world of Islam, looking at Iznik dishes
and the later Kütahya holdings of the
collection, but these, at the time, were not
my immediate concern. Yet I did keep in
mind one particular piece, a bowl with its lid,
Plate 1.
an unusual shape in the Ottoman world of the
Kütahya bowl and lid
total height: 21 cm 18th century (48.1732 a, b). The opportunity
bowl only: H: 13.2 cm, W: 19.4 cm. to study it has now arisen in order to honour
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, inv. no. 48.1732 a, b. both a colleague and a friend (pl. 1).
The polychrome painting is of excellent quality and the whole decoration shows more refinement
than usual. Only the clumsy composition and painting on the lid seems to indicate a different hand
from that of the bowl, but this will be discussed after the description of the decoration on the bowl
itself (Pl. 6). All of it is outlined in fine black lines, possibly with the use of chromite1. An identical
band underlines both the inside and the outside of the straight rim; it consists of four alternating
motifs, a spotted diaper of three to four lozenges in black, and a panel limited by two green and
yellow triangles which encompass one half of a red petaled flower with a trilobed leaf on either side
(Pl. 2). Two different compositions with four flowers and leaves alternate around the body itself:
one with a stalk undulating upwards from left to right (Pls. 3 & 4), the other with its stalk hanging
downwards in the same direction (Pls. 5 & 6). Such plants bare no resemblance to any known
flowers or attributes which are very strange elongated leaves with one serrated edge. The walls
inside the bowl are plain, and a single central decoration consists of one flower taken from the
same repertoire as the flowers on the outside; it is encompassed by similar serrated green leaves.
A double blue line surrounds the composition (Pl. 7). Two blue lines, one thick the other thin,
surround the top of the foot ring.
1
The use of chromite in ceramics has been recorded since the middle ages. See Degli Agosti M. and Schweizer
F., Technical analysis, in Crowe Y., Persia and China, Safavid blue and white ceramics in the Victoria & Albert
Museum 1501-1738, London 2002, p. 297.
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Plate 2. Bowl: inner band.
Plates 3 & 4. Bowl: detail with an upward stalk.
Plates 5 & 6. Bowl: detail with a downward stalk.
Plate 7. Bowl: central decoration. Plate 8. Bowl: lid.
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A closer examination shows that the outline in black creates a firm contour for both flowers and
leaves with added smaller geometric spaces filled with dots, stripes or zigzags. By contrast
irregular colours of green, blue, yellow and deep purple, which looks almost black, overrun the fine
black lines. Only the red, not unlike the earlier sealing wax of Iznik fame, remains almost within its
given place or can slightly hide the fine black line. But what is one to make of the sprays and their
so-called flowers? The larger sprays may have been painted first, some of the red ones upside
down. The added stalks divide the spray into two groups, each with two flowers, one with a
dominant colour of blue, the other with red. Some yellow painting enhances the top of the blue
flowers as well as additional small bulges on the lower stem. The two other sprays occupy a slightly
smaller space (pls. 3 & 4). The stalk is shorter with a double bend towards its tip. Again four
flowers add up to a spray. This time the colour red dominates the composition and one leaf on pl. 1
is yellow. On three occasions, green leaves end in a squiggle. Finally four pairs of peculiar–looking
insects fit into whatever space remains between the sprays. They all have a pair of legs and
whiskers; most of their dotted bodies end in a squiggle, and an extra one may spring from the
back of the body.
As noticed earlier, the inside of the bowl has a rim band similar to the outer one. The walls are
plain and a central flower composition is surrounded by a double circle. It is difficult to decide how
to look at it. The V shape of the double leaf frame may indicate a direction with the red petals
hanging downwards and a green plummet at the top. A touch of light purple creates a slight feeling
of depth towards the base of the V shape. As to the lid, its haphazard painting contrasts sadly with
that of the bowl (Pl. 8). Shapeless contours with messy colours and a coarse border to the base of
the lid are not enhanced by the restoration of the broken areas. Two elongated shapes separate
two pairs of pseudo-trees with dotted branches and enclosed by leaves. Only the fine herring bone
pattern at the base of the knob has been neatly painted in black with a fine brush. It recalls the rim
bands of the bowl itself.
In spite of many sales catalogues available in recent years2, the strange nature of such an
exuberant design on the bowl has always been a puzzle, though an attempt has recently been
made to explain its origins3. The fact that a number of pieces have Armenian texts, signatures and
dates has made it possible to place the production of this type of Kütahya ceramics chiefly in the
18th century. Yet production of ceramics by Armenian potters is mentioned by John Carswell at the
early date of 1444/5, when a potter in that town called Murad donated a mantle for a priest in the
church named the Holy Mother of God; both name and date appear in a book listing gifts given to
that church in Kütahya. Carswell was indeed the first to study methodically the production of
vessels and tiles while Dawsett traced the presence of an Armenian population in Kütahya to the
colophon of a manuscript dated 1391; the manuscript was a gift to the local Armenian Church4.
Although ceramics with the name of Kütahya have been collected since the 19th century, and their
shapes and decoration have been described on a number of occasions, no studies have been made
to unravel the origins of their 18th century decoration. At first sight the designs on their surfaces
are most disconcerting and their weird outlines are difficult to connect with any known patterns in
2
Altun A., Carswell J. and Öney G., Sadberk Hanim Museum, Turkish Tiles and Ceramics, Istanbul 1991, Çini R,
Kütahya Çinicilğ i, Istanbul 2002, Kenaan-Kedar N., The Armenian Ceramics of Jerusalem, three generations,
1919-2003, Jerusalem 2003.
3
Crowe Y., Kütahya and caravans, forthcoming in Oriental Art NS 51/5.
4
Carswell J. and Dowsett C.J.F., Kütahya Tiles and Pottery from the Armenian Cathedral of St. James,
Jerusalem, 2 vols., Oxford 1972, vol. 2, p. 2.
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the eastern parts of the Mediterranean world, the Ottoman Empire. Yet these facts have not
prevented recent Turkish collectors from buying most pieces offered in the salerooms, although
entries in catalogues have only consisted of descriptions. No comments have been made explaining
these strange designs5.
Wider connections
Could it be that the study of one type of material prevents inquiries into other types, so that
concentrating exclusively on ceramics excludes the study of textiles or lacquered objects, or even
book bindings? All too often specialists do not look beyond their own field, unaware that by
restricting their research to one specific area they miss the wider geographical picture, although
the world of Islam offers a great variety of cross-fertilization. And here, beyond media and
geographical contexts, one more factor intervenes in the unravelling of the origins of Kütahya
designs. That is the part played by a minority population, the Armenians, the oldest Christian
population in the world. Over the centuries their long and troubled history witnessed many shifts
of population: from the central lands of Armenia with the Saljuq invasion of the Byzantine Empire
in 1071 to the Lesser Cilician kingdom of Armenia centred round its capital Sis and the rich port of
Ayas praised by Marco Polo6. It survived until the death of its last king Leo V in 1375. By the end of
the 14th century sea ports of an Armenia maritime, were already scattered round the eastern parts
of the Mediterranean, from the Crimea to Venice. During the 15th and 16th century more merchant
communities settled in the Balkans.
Yet another forced displacement of population took place in 1603. Having been entertained lavishly
by the important Armenian merchant families of Julfa, Shah Abbas I, the ruler of Persia (1588-
1629), decided to associate them to his realm. At a time of intense warfare against the Ottomans,
he created a waste land on his north-western border, partly by transporting the whole population
of Julfa not only to his new capital Isfahan and the lands around it, but also to the silk producing
areas south of the Caspian7. Through their knowledge of international trade, especially that of silk
and precious stones, these rich merchants, about twenty families, acquired a position close to
being that of bankers to the Safavid dynasty8.
Further significant settlements in India should be mentioned since the earliest Armenian Church in
the Mughal Empire was established in Agra by 1563. Travellers and factors of the Dutch East India
Company (the VOC, Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie) and the English East India Company
(the EIC) regularly mention the presence of Armenian merchants whenever they reach market
places or landing stages around the Indian Ocean9. And it is this presence of Armenian merchant
communities in India which appear to be the missing link between Kütahya in the Ottoman Empire
and the Indian subcontinent. This statement may come as a surprise, yet it is one to be considered
when one bears in mind the vast international Armenian network across Asia, from the
Mediterranean to the Sea of China.
5
For example the sale of Haroutune P. Hazarian’s collection, Bonham & Brooks, London May 2nd 2001.
6
The book of Ser Marco Polo, translated and edited by Yule H., revised by Cordier H., 2 vols, London 1926, vol.
1, p. 41.
7
Ghougassian V.S., The emergence of the Armenian diocese of New Julfa in the seventeenth century, Atlanta
1998.
8
Matthee R.P., The politics of trade in Safavid Iran; Silk for silver 1600-1730, Cambridge 1999.
9
Baibourtian V., International trade and the Armenian merchants in the seventeenth century, New Delhi 2004.
Seth M.J., History of the Armenians in India, 1895, reprint New Delhi 1988.
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Although Armenian trading by sea is mentioned in a number of contemporary documents10,
references to caravans and Armenians on the land routes are far more frequent. European
travellers refer to them as they praise all at once their frugality and thriftiness. Besides, their
caravans were safe to join, since Armenian merchants were neither political nor religious threats to
any of the lands they crossed. Caravans starting from Agra or Lahore would reach Isfahan via
Multan, Qandahar and Birjand. From the capital, different itineraries could be followed to reach the
Mediterranean. There were two routes via Tabriz: the northern one, which could go through
Erevan, Erzerum and end in either Istanbul or Smyrna. The southern route would lead to Van, then
Dyarbakir, Urfa and reach Aleppo and its port Alexandretta11. A further combination of sea and land
routes would include shipping from India to Bandar Abbas or more likely Basra to join caravans on
their way to Aleppo. Using the Red Sea seems to have been less popular owing to local shipping
shared by Gujarati and Ottoman shipping bound for Cairo12. It should also be remembered that a
well-appointed system of caravanserais lined the various land routes, providing shelter and food
along the way.
Besides the enduring fashion for Indian painted cottons in Europe from the early days of the East
Indian Companies, and despite laws forbidding the use of such textiles in 1686, 1700 and 1709 in
France and in England in 1700 and 1720, the demand for them never lessened. Design and colours
would change throughout the 18th century as taste differed and altered from one European country
to the other. The shipment of painted cottons, also known as chintzes, was an important part of
the trading of the East India companies; nevertheless the land routes of the caravans were
frequently used by Armenian traders to reach the eastern seas of the Mediterranean. Besides the
conveying of chintzes the Armenian merchants also provided them for use in their own households
and furthermore for church hangings. Indian painted cottons can still be seen in treasuries of both
the cathedral of Ejmiacin near Erevan and the convent of the cathedral of Saint James in
Jerusalem. These church hangings, such as large curtains, are usually drawn across the altar until
the celebration of the Eucharist. They often carry a representation of the crucifixion, whereas the
history of the Armenian Church and clergy appear on single panels as well as on polychrome tiles.
Consequently it is possible to relate the international trading of goods, such as textiles, with
various Armenian communities across Asia, so that Indian painted cottons with their exotic designs
could reach Kütahya and its community of potters13. The religious church cotton hangings were
only one aspect of the delivered textiles, and it is evident that the local population was also eager
to acquire other Indian cottons, such as palampores, always of a better quality than those
produced in Persia or the Ottoman world14. Exuberant flowers are less a part of the decorated
borders of the religious panels; these show controlled flowery scrolls. On the other hand flowering
10
Aghassian M. and Kévonian K.: Le commerce arménien dans l’Océan Indien aux 17e et 18e siècles, in
Marchands et homes d’affaires asiatiques dans l’Océan Indien et la Mer de Chine, eds. Lombard D. and Aubin J.,
Paris 1981, pp. 155-181, p. 159. For a short time in the mid 17th century, a few ships were flying Armenian
colours, red and yellow with a symbolic lamb of God. But usually Armenian merchants relied on the shipping
capacities of the English and Dutch fleets.
11
Kévorkian R.H., Le négoce international des Arméniens au XVIIe siècle, in Arméniens entre Orient et
Occident, trois mille ans de civilisation, ed. Kévorkian R.H., Paris 1996, pp. 142-3.
12
Tuchscherer M., le commerce en Mer Rouge aux alentours de 1700 : flux, espaces et temps, in Res Orientalis
V 1993, pp. 159-178.
13
For further details on the continental links between India and the Mediterranean, see Crowe, forthcoming
Oriental Art, 51/5.
14
Fukasawa K., Toilerie et commerce du Levant, CNRS Paris 1987.
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trees and their exotic yet fanciful flowers animate a variety of hangings as can still be seen in a
number of museum collections; these would also include earlier fragments produced in Gujarat,
and designed to satisfy the taste of different markets15.
Solving the mystery
By the early decades of the 18th century an exotic variety of flowers had invaded the surfaces of
chintzes; the outlines of these flowers bear no relation to any known botanical species; and it
would seem to be the exuberance of these blossoms which attracted the Kütahya potters. Yet the
impressionistic flowers and leaves on the pot are a far cry from the detailed designs on the cottons.
The simplified brush stroke is the answer to the problem of how to master intricate details on a
rounded surface with limited space. A clear transfer of the outline is as far as the copyist can deal
with the design, although the slightly runny colours are as vivid as those on earlier Iznik wares.
Yellow is the one colour which strikes an original note as its shade is more vibrant. On most
surviving pieces of chintzes that colour is no longer visible, although it existed at the time of its
painting16. Yellow is the one colour which fades early in the life of an Indian painted cotton, and
over the years it takes on a pale beige tint as can be seen on the leaf before the serrated points
(pl. 9).
Plate 9.
Chintz: detail of a fragment,
Victoria & Albert Museum,
inv. no. IM 51-1919.
The flowers can be organised in two groups, according to their shape. The first consists of blooms
with a tighter configuration, and they are usually attached to the downward branch pair (Pls. 5 & 6,
Pl. 10 drawing a). The shape of blooms in the other group is more open, and red seems to
dominate the colour scheme (Pls. 2 & 4, Pl. 10 drawing b). The intricacies of the floral designs on
the chintzes would be difficult to reproduce on a ceramic surface, when locally there exists no
tradition of minute copying similar to that of European miniaturists working on enamels. In effect
the greatly simplified outline adds to the whimsical style of the Kütahya painting. A further feature
typical both on textiles and the bowl is a shape comparable to a tuft of plumes. This feature
appears with every flower in red, green, yellow and even in black (Pl. 1, Pl. 10 drawing C).
15
Barnes R., Indian block-printed textiles in Egypt. The Newbury collection in the Ashmolean Museum, 2 vols,
Oxford 1997.
16
A yellow background is still visible on a large spread acquired by the British Museum and illustrated in the
British Museum Magazine No. 33 Spring 1999, pp. 17-9.
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Plate 10. Drawings a, b, c.
Chintz flowers after a palampore in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, inv. no. 1982.66.
Two more details on the bowl offer plausible points of comparison with chintzes. The green
serrated leaves are typical of chintz design by the end of the 17th century and recall those on the
fragment from the Victoria & Albert Museum (Pl. 9). Another feature consists of the reproduction of
insects, a well established theme in Mughal and Persian miniatures and textile designs (Pl. 11)
proceeding from original plates in European books17. The Kütahya potter has emphasised both legs
and antenna thus creating a fanciful insect, and he has also added strange squiggles which, on
chintzes, only extend certain leaves (Pl. 12). As for the borders below the rim of the bowl, they
follow numerous patterns on Kangxi export porcelain. Thus both sources of design, Indian textiles
and Chinese porcelain, illustrate an interesting search of the potter for renewed inspiration not only
from foreign ceramics but also from different media. As it is often the case, it is the design which
takes first place, regardless of the support.
Plate 11. Plate 12.
Indian silk embroidery, detail. Chintz: larger detail of a fragment, V & A Museum, inv. no. IM 51-1919.
A final look should be cast at the lid which fits the bowl (Pl. 8). The difference in the painting with
the bowl itself as noticed earlier, is surprising and could indicate the replacement of a broken part.
Yet a search for a similar style of painting through sale catalogues and other publications was
17
Engraving by Nicolaes de Bruyn, 1594, in Flowers and plants, drawings, prints and photographs in the
collections of the Rijksmuseum print room and library, compiled by Peter Schatborn, Amsterdam 1994.
A Kütahya bowl with lid in the Walters Art Museum – Yolande Crowe - 25.1.2007 - 8/8
rewarded when a teapot and a covered bowl came to
light18. The decoration of the teapot provides a few
references to the motifs painted on the Walters bowl
(Pl. 13). The tree shapes with globular leaves are
repeated four times on the Walters’s lid, and the
green leafy branches belong to the same brush. As
for the other motifs it is difficult to perceive a
thatched hut on both vessels though they proceed
from a same model on Chinese porcelain. A fragment
of a green balustrade is visible next to the springing
of the handle to the teapot. This small detail recalls
more elaborate imitations of Chinese balustrades
painted on Persian blue and white ceramics of the
Plate 13. late 17th / early 18th century19. The survival of a few
Teapot, H. 11 cm designs such as these small details suggests the
Bonham and Brooks, London,
possibility of a tie between Persian and Ottoman
May 2nd 2001, no. 431.
potters.
In this first attempt to unravel the origins of Kütahya decoration, only the main features of one
polychrome bowl with its lid have been studied. Already two different brushes have been detected,
and in reviewing a larger selection of Kütahya pieces, it should be possible to organise its
production according to workshops. Besides, there are a number of blue and white dishes and
basins which require further investigation. An almost pyrotechnic decoration on a basin which
would have had at one time a matching ewer will conclude this series of pictures (Pl. 14). The
Armenian/Turkish inscription conveys the date and the name of the owner.
In the Armenian year 1193/1744 on Monday May the 8th, this basin was inscribed; it belongs to
Öhannes, son of David. May he use it to his benefit, Amen. May this inscription convey even more
wishes.
Plate 14. Basin, 1744, H: 8.8 cm, W: 26.6 cm, San Lazzaro Armenian monastery, Venice.
18
Bonhams and Brooks May 2nd 2001, no. 413, a teapot, H: 11 cm. Delights of Kütahya, Sunna and Inan Kiraç
collection, Istanbul 1997, A covered bowl no. 87, H. 9 cm.
19
Crowe : catalogue nos. 413, 416.
