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Moroccan, Fez or Meknes: Tall bowl (Jobbana) with geometric designs

$5,750
£4,365.29
€5,032.47
CA$8,134.17
A$8,757.17
CHF 4,689.64
MX$105,520.81
NOK 59,170.21
SEK 54,150.30
DKK 37,604.62

About the Item

Provenance: Collection of Emily Johnston De Forest and Robert Weeks De Forest, New York, by 1911-until 1942; thence by descent until 2018. Literature: Edwin Atlee Barber, Catalogue of the Mexican Maiolica Belonging to Mrs. Robert W. De Forest by The Hispanic Society of America, New York, 1911, p. 64, cat. no. 66 (no 1. only). This beautifully decorated earthenware pot is a striking example of a 19th-century Moroccan jobbana. Traditionally accompanied by a domed or bell-shaped lid with a finial top, these vessels originally were used to store butter and cheese or to churn milk. The name, jobbana, derives from the Arabic word for cheese—jubna. The exterior of the bowl is decorated with ornamental motifs in bright blue applied over a yellow under-glaze. The organic diamond shapes separated by bands of intricate filigree and geometric patterns mirrored top and bottom are characteristic of ceramicware from Fez and Meknes, as is the reddish color of the clay visible beneath the yellow glaze and in the few areas of small losses. The blue oxide used on vessels of this type allow us to date our jobbana to the middle of the 19th century. An example executed on a similar scale and retaining its original lid is in the Brooklyn Museum (Fig. 1). This beautifully decorated earthenware pot is a striking example of a 19th-century Moroccan jobbana. Traditionally accompanied by a domed or bell-shaped lid with a finial top, these vessels originally were used to store butter and cheese or to churn milk. The name, jobbana, derives from the Arabic word for cheese—jubna. The exterior of the bowl is decorated with ornamental motifs in bright blue applied over a yellow under-glaze. The organic diamond shapes separated by bands of intricate filigree and geometric patterns mirrored top and bottom are characteristic of ceramicware from Fez and Meknes, as is the reddish color of the clay visible beneath the yellow glaze and in the few areas of small losses. The blue oxide used on vessels of this type allow us to date our jobbana to the middle of the 19th century. An example executed on a similar scale and retaining its original lid is in the Brooklyn Museum (Fig. 1).
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 7.875 in (20.01 cm)Width: 10.5 in (26.67 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1025777991

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