Caption

Waterskin matara, 2nd half of the 16th century, Turkey; vessel, leather, height 23.0 cm, width 24.5 cm, depth 14.0 cm, weight 0.62 kg. Kidney-shaped waterskin with rounded bottom, narrow neck and small spout for drinking, decorated with appliqué arabesques cut from shagreen and arabesques painted with gold; features a protective emblem in the form of a six-pointed star Seal of Solomon intended to ensure the water's freshness. The leather matara imitates luxury gold bottles set with precious stones used at the sultan's court and may have been used by the sultan during military expeditions. Only four such leather mataras are known worldwide., An ornate decorative vessel with a rounded, flattened body and a short neck, shown against a plain gray background; the vessel displays intricate raised patterns and scrollwork in colors including red, green, gold, and black, with areas of worn or faded paint; the surface shows textured detailing and symmetrical curved motifs, and a small spout-like protrusion is visible on one side.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A22_344

License type

Rights managed

Available size

77.2Mb (2.9Mb) / 20.0in x 15.0in / 6000 x 4500 (300dpi)

Keywords

Waterskin matara 2nd half 16th century Turkey vessel leather height 23.0 cm width 24.5 cm depth 14.0 cm weight 0.62 kg Kidney-shaped waterskin rounded bottom narrow neck small spout drinking decorated appliqué arabesques cut shagreen arabesques painted gold features protective emblem form six-pointed star Seal Solomon intended ensure water's freshness matara imitates luxury gold bottles set precious stones sultan's court sultan military expeditions four leather mataras worldwide ornate decorative vessel rounded flattened body short neck shown plain gray background vessel displays intricate raised patterns scrollwork colors red green black areas worn faded paint surface textured detailing symmetrical curved motifs small spout- protrusion visible side.