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Lot 74

An Ottoman Ostrich Egg Hanging Ornament with tughra of Abd al-Hamid II
Turkey, AH 1293-1327/ AD 1876-1909

Amended
The Jacques Desenfans Collection
10 April 2008, 10:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

£6,000 - £8,000

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An Ottoman Ostrich Egg Hanging Ornament with tughra of Abd al-Hamid II
Turkey, AH 1293-1327/ AD 1876-1909

the egg embellished with gilt mounts set with coloured glass stones, a ball suspension set with pearls and below a tassle of strings of seed pearls and coloured semi-precious stones, the domic silver suspension section set with turquoises forming floral rosettes, later replacements
67 cm. long overall

Footnotes

Provenance:
Acquired in Paris, 1962.

Decorated ostrich eggs, marked with the Sultan's tughra, were a traditional decoration of the Ottoman court; a bejewelled and enamlled egg, bearing the tughra of Mahmut II, can be seen in the Imperial Treasury at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul (see, J. M. Rogers, The Topkapi Saray Museum, The Treasury, New York, 1980, no. 13).

Ostrich eggs were believed to repel spiders, and were included in the chandeliers of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul to avoid the build-up of cobwebs.

Saleroom notices

The mounts on the egg are 20th Century. The estimate should read £2,000 - 3,000 and not £6,000 - 8,000 as stated in the catalogue.

Additional information

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