Zsolnay - Vase (2) - Porcelain

For sale is a highly collectible and rare matching pair of late 19th-century ceramic art pottery vases produced by the prestigious Hungarian manufacturer Zsolnay Pécs.
Crafted during the golden era of the factory under the direction of Vilmos Zsolnay, these ivory-ground faience vases feature an exquisite, hand-painted Middle Eastern design. The decoration draws direct inspiration from 16th-century Turkish Iznik and Persian pottery, showcasing stylized trailing spring floral branches (Bahar Dalı) and hyacinth motifs in rich underglaze tones of iron red, cobalt blue, and copper green. The elegant teardrop forms feature a distinctive long, slender neck accented by a prominent raised collar ring.
Historical Significance & Rarity: The bases are impressed with the early factory form catalog number 455. According to factory archives, this specific shape was originally designed in March 1878 by Júlia and Teréz Zsolnay, who copied a historical Iznik vessel housed at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. Pieces from this celebrated "Persian-series" master catalog were showcased at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle. This specific pair features the blue underglaze "Five Towers" backstamp (Zsolnay Pécs), dating their production to the highly desirable window of circa 1885–1895. Surviving, intact companion pairs from this early period are exceptionally rare on the market.

The Inspiration: The shape and decoration were directly mapped out by Vilmos Zsolnay's daughters, Júlia and Teréz Zsolnay. They meticulously sketched and copied a historical 16th-century Turkish Iznik bottle vessel housed at the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Applied Arts) in Vienna.

The Debut: The initial production runs of this exact 455 mold were exhibited at the landmark 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle and the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition, where Zsolnay’s high-fire enamel "Persian" wares took the art world by storm.