Caption

Waterskin matara, Islamic/Turkish, Ottoman dynasty 1299–1922. Kidney-shaped leather waterskin with appliqué of a colorful lizard; rounded bottom, narrow neck for pouring and small spout for drinking. Decorated with applied shagreen arabesques and arabesques painted in gold. One narrow side bears a protective six-pointed star Seal of Solomon intended to ensure the water's freshness. The leather matara is a copy of gold, gem-set court bottles; it may have been used by the sultan on military expeditions. Unique type — four such mataras are known worldwide. 2nd half of the 16th century, Turkey. Vessel; height 23.0 cm, width 24.5 cm, depth 14.0 cm, weight 0.62 kg., An ornate, narrow-necked vessel stands upright against a plain gray background; the vessel displays a symmetrical, elongated teardrop shape with a pointed top and a wider base. The surface shows layered, decorative panels with swirling, curvilinear patterns and scalloped edges. Visible colors include muted red, deep green, dark gray, gold, and touches of black, with areas of worn or faded pigment creating a mottled, aged appearance. The panels are separated by raised ridges that converge toward the neck, and the decorative motifs feature repeating organic shapes and scallop-like bands. The neck is short and cylindrical with a slightly darker rim, and the overall surface texture appears rough and weathered with patchy areas of color loss.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A22_345

License type

Rights managed

Available size

77.2Mb (1.6Mb) / 20.0in x 15.0in / 6000 x 4500 (300dpi)

Keywords

Waterskin matara Islamic Turkish Ottoman dynasty 1299–1922 Kidney-shaped leather waterskin appliqué colorful lizard rounded bottom narrow neck pouring small spout drinking Decorated applied shagreen arabesques arabesques painted gold narrow side bears protective six-pointed star Seal Solomon intended ensure water's freshness leather matara copy gem-set court bottles sultan military expeditions Unique type four mataras worldwide 2nd half 16th century Turkey Vessel height 23.0 cm width 24.5 cm depth 14.0 cm weight 0.62 kg ornate narrow-necked vessel stands upright plain gray background vessel displays symmetrical elongated teardrop shape pointed top wider base surface layered decorative panels swirling curvilinear patterns scalloped edges Visible colors include muted red deep green dark gray touches black areas worn faded pigment creating mottled aged appearance panels separated raised ridges converge neck decorative motifs feature repeating organic shapes scallop- bands short cylindrical slightly darker rim surface texture rough weathered patchy areas color loss.