Safavid multi-neck vase in blue and black

Five necked vase with larger central neck. The central neck with tips of plantain leaves flairs up to a twisted band below the everted rim, the inside of which has seven crossed hoops with tassel finials. The four smaller necks sprouting up from the main body of the vase have a zig-zag pattern painted on the inside rim. The main body of the vase is decorated with an interlocking pattern of lobed shapes with alternate patterns of stems with a small buds and vein like threads. Striped panels alternate with plain ones towards a plain band before the flaring foot which as no mark.

Historical significance: Multi-neck vases remained popular, in various heights, but all with four secondary necks. The smaller multi-neck vases tended to be painted more casually.

Persian blue and white ceramics were primarily produced during the rule of the Safavid Dynasty in Iran (early 16th century to early 18th century). Iranian potters were almost exclusively preoccupied with making wares in the styles of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain some close copies and some more fanciful. Echoes of earlier traditions remained, in particular in the black-under-turquoise colour scheme that dates back in Iran to the end of the 12th century. Towards the end of the 16th century there was a widening of interest that blossomed in the 17th century to a wide range of styles and techniques in which blue and white plays a dominant but not exclusive role.

612-1889