Ottoman Glass Rosewater Sprinkler

Ottoman Turkey, probably Beykoz, late 18th to 19th century
19cm high, 8cm max. diameter
Stock no.: A5884
Provenance: Greek private collection since the 1970s; thence by descent. 
 

Make an enquiry +44 (0)20 7937 4422

Ottoman Glass Rosewater Sprinkler

--Select a country-- Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo (DRC) Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Islands Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Lands Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libye Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka St. Helena St. Kitts And Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Virgin Islands, British Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe

 

SEND

Success:

Email sent successfully

This small rosewater sprinkler (gülabdan) is made from opaque red glass. The marble effect is achieved by turning the body as it was blown. Archival sources suggest that functional objects related to hospitality, such as rosewater sprinklers, water pipes, and incense burners, were displayed in niches of the reception rooms of wealthy Ottomans.[1] Domestic glass production had dwindled by the 18th century, largely due to the hegemony of European, particularly Venetian, glass.[2] Following a trip to Austria in 1791, Sultan Selim III founded a new glass factory at Beykoz, near Istanbul.[3] This rosewater sprinkler was probably made there. 

The deep red marbled glass reflects 18th century Ottoman tastes. Marbling developed as a papermaking technique, however it was employed by Iznik ceramicists in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and began to be used for small glass bottles in the eighteenth century.[4] 

A very similar rosewater sprinkler is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no. 91.1.2155). It is only slightly smaller than our example, measuring 18.2cm high with a 7.2cm diameter. Attributed to Beykoz, late 18th-19th century, it has similar distinctive red marbling. For other marbled rosewater sprinklers, see Ergun Lafli (2013) fig. 9, p. 329.[5]

[1] Ekhtiar, Maryam D. and Claire Moore (eds), 'Domestic Life in Eighteenth-Century Damascus', Art of the Islamic World. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. pp. 183-192.
[2] Moraitou, Mina (ed.) Of Coloured Glass - The Mando & Londos Oeconomides Collection. Athens: Benaki Museum, 2013. p. 40.
[3] Beyazit, Deniz. 'Rosewater Sprinklers', in Medill Higgins Harvey (ed.). Collecting Inspiration : Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021. pp. 23, 190, no. 123A, ill. 
[4] Ibid.
[5] Laflı, Ergun. 'Türk-İslam Medeniyetinde Cam: Beykoz Cam İşçiliğine Bir Bakış / Beykoz glassware from Ottoman Istanbul', in İ. Narin (ed.) Medrese ve İlahiyat Kavşağında İslami İlimler (Uluslararası Sempozyum) / Islamic Sciences at the crossroad of madrasah and theology (international symposium) (Bingöl 2013), 323-331.