A rare tile from the Ottoman Empire has sold for £155,000 ($239,707) at Rendells Auctioneers in Devon, UK.
The lot smashed its estimate of £5,000 ($7,732) by 3,000%.
 The tile displays a rare emerald green pigment |
The Iznik pottery, where the tile originates, was based in Anatolia and provided high end wares for the Ottoman court.
It fell into decline towards the end of the 17th century.
The tile is one of six surviving specimens displaying this particular pattern, and is the first to come to auction in years. It dates to around the late 16th or early 17th century and displays a pair of parrots.
Spokesman David Ship told the Torquay Herald Express: "This beautiful item includes the emerald green first used to decorate tiles of the mausoleum of Suleiman The Magnificent in 1566.
"Iznik pottery used a fairly basic palette of blue, purple and sage green on plain ground. By the time this particular tile was made, they had replaced purple with the distinctive red, and the muted sage green was replaced with the more vibrant emerald green.
"I guess that it was probably made in the 1580s-1590s, although I have said late 16th/early 17th century.
"You can see in the detail of the tile that the green has slightly bled, whereas the 'older' colours are sharp, this again points to the tile being early."
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