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Lot Essay
This portrait of Sultan Mehmet IV (d. 1693) is part of a tradition of royal portraits of the Ottoman period, most of which were made to illustrate texts such as the Qifayet al-Insaniyeh, the 'Physiognomy of the Ottomans', and the Zubdat al-Tawarikh, the 'Cream of Histories', both written by Seyyid Luqman Ashouri, the official chronicler (shehnameci) of Selim II and Murad III. Authors and artists after this period continued to add illustrations and descriptions of later Sultans to the original to bring it up to date. This portrait is likely to have come from one of these extended works, or a later manuscript on the same subject.
Sultan Mehmet became the ruler of the Ottoman Empire in 1648, at the age of seven, after a long period of political instability. He ruled until 1687, and changed the political dynamic of the Ottoman government for the first time by ceding most of his executive powers to the Grand Vizier. He was deposed by the janissaries in 1687, and imprisoned, but was permitted to return to Edirne Palace to die in 1693.
The present painting of Mehmet IV is in the style of the early 18th century, with the commanding figure of the Sultan dressed in military costume. A painting of Sultan Sulayman from a different series of royal portraits was sold at Christie's, London, 8 October 2015, lot 98.
Sultan Mehmet became the ruler of the Ottoman Empire in 1648, at the age of seven, after a long period of political instability. He ruled until 1687, and changed the political dynamic of the Ottoman government for the first time by ceding most of his executive powers to the Grand Vizier. He was deposed by the janissaries in 1687, and imprisoned, but was permitted to return to Edirne Palace to die in 1693.
The present painting of Mehmet IV is in the style of the early 18th century, with the commanding figure of the Sultan dressed in military costume. A painting of Sultan Sulayman from a different series of royal portraits was sold at Christie's, London, 8 October 2015, lot 98.