A bronze medallion, thought to be from the princely period of Mehmet the Conqueror and believed to bear the oldest known portrait of Fatih, was sold for 1.4 million pounds sterling (approximately 57 million liras) at auction in London.
In the auction of Islamic and Indian artifacts at Bonhams Auction House in London, many artifacts from the Ottoman period also found their buyers.
One of the most important pieces of the auction, a 1450 dated medallion bearing the portrait of Fatih, was auctioned with a starting price of 900 thousand pounds sterling (approximately 37 million pounds).
The medallion was sold for 1.4 million pounds as a result of the auction.
Allegation that it was used for talismanic purposes
The image of Fatih engraved on the medallion sold at auction is thought to be the oldest portrait of the Ottoman sultan.
Bonhams dates the medallion, which is said to have been made when Mehmet the Conqueror was a prince and inscribed with the words “Great Prince, Great Emir, Sultan Mehmet Efendi”, to 1450.
The claim that the locket, which is thought to have been worn around the neck or hung somewhere due to the hole on it, was used as a talisman is among the information shared by Bonhams.
Iznik tiles also sold
At the auction, 3 tiles measuring 25 centimeters by 25 centimeters, thought to be Iznik-made, were sold for 12, 14 and 15 thousand pounds (approximately 490 thousand, 570 thousand and 613 thousand liras).
A 30-centimeter diameter tile plate dated 1575, which is also thought to have been made in Iznik, was sold for 55 thousand pounds (approximately 2.2 million liras).
In the auction, a silver incense burner from the Ottoman period was sold for 2 thousand pounds (approximately 81 thousand pounds), and a rose water pourer used for pouring rose water was sold for 3 thousand 200 pounds (approximately 130 thousand pounds).
Source:AA
