An Ottoman steel chanfron, Turkey, late 16th or early 17th century

Philippe Missillier Collection no.178C

The strongly sculptural form of this chanfron and the ‘T’ shaped panel in relief on the central axis links this piece to a group that includes a chanfron formerly in the Philippe Missillier collection sold in these rooms, 29 April 2025, lot 87. A chanfron of similar form made for the grand vizier Murad Pasha (1520-1611) is in the Louvre (inv. no.MAO 1223; Sophie Makariou (ed.), Nouvelles acquisitions, Arts de l’Islam: 1988-2001, 61, Paris, RMN, 2002, pp.135-7, no.81). Variations here include the two diagonal lozenges in relief at the forehead, and the deeper cutaway of the sides than on that example. The form is related to a chanfron in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, probably datable to the sixteenth century, which has more elaborate relief decoration than the present chanfron (inv. no.21.102.4; Alexander 2015, pp.132-3, no.49).