Large Ottoman Silver Hammam Bowl Decorated with a Steam Ship

This large silver bowl has been made for use by a wealthy bather in a hammam or a traditional Ottoman bathhouse. It was used to ladle water over the bather, and then could be turned upside and used as headrest; the central indentation (or dome when viewed from the inside) providing a place for the head to rest.

It is of thin, hammered silver that has been chased and repoussed with a central image of a paddle steamer, around which arched cartouches radiate. These are variously decorated with leafy angular motifs and more ships.

Some of the decoration is meant to be viewed when the bowl inverted, and the remainder when it is everted. This is because the bowl is used both ways.

Paddle steamers such as the example depicted were in use on the Bosphorus in Istanbul by the mid-19th century.  In 1851, the Istanbul Maritime Company was established and within two years it operated six paddle steamers as a ferry service across the Boshphorus.

There are no assay or tughra marks.

A similar example (also without assay or tughra marks) was offered as lot 313 by Sotheby’s London at their ‘An eye for Opulence – Art of the Ottoman Empire’, April 24, 2012. Another is published in Curatola (2019, p,  70).

The bowl here is in fine condition. There are old solder joins and around the rim. The silver used is sold and high-grade. The walls have been hammered so that they are thin with the folded rim providing support.