Lot Essay
Sir Robert Ainslie (circa 1732-1812), an enthusiastic antiquarian and ambassador to the Sublime Port between 1776 and 1792, employed Mayer as his personal artist during his posting, Mayer travelling to Constantinople in the early 1780s to begin his commissions. In 1796 Mayer accompanied Ainslie on his return to England and settled with his family in London. It was then that his drawings were engraved by Thomas Milton (1743-1827) and compiled into three volumes of aquatints published by Robert Bowyer as Views in Egypt... (1801), Views in Palestine... (1802), and Views in the Ottoman Empire, chiefly Caramania... (1803).
In 1809 Ainslie sold his collection of original drawings by Mayer, a large number of which are now in the Searight Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
In 1809 Ainslie sold his collection of original drawings by Mayer, a large number of which are now in the Searight Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.