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Lot Essay
Albums containing paintings of variously dressed members of Ottoman society were produced by the commercial artists of Istanbul between the 17th and 19th centuries, catering to the interests of viewers who regarded costume as a window into the empire’s workings. They were mainly produced for a foreign audience of travellers or diplomats, who wanted detailed images of the ‘exotic’ Ottoman culture and its people. They were usually captioned in their own languages, such as the present present ones in English. In this example the illustrations include a variety of official positions, such as a judge, janissaries, as well as the Sultan’s crown bearer and Minister of Foreign Affairs. A woman is also depicted, the 'Guard of the Ladies in the Seraglia'. Numerated in the same pencil, from 1 to 94, they most likely formed a part of the same album, most of which is now dispersed.
Noticeably, a similar-looking Minister of Foreign Affairs ('Reis Effendi') in profile was depicted as part of an album commissioned around 1809 by the English diplomat Stratford Canning (later Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe), now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (D.35-1895, D.23-150-1895). The anonymous artist behind the group is believed by Turkish scholars to have been part of the studio or circle of Konstantin Kapidagli, whose style combined the dense watercolour used by Ottoman artists with European conventions of representation and perspective (Ahmet Yaşar, 'Stratford Canning Albümü: 1809 Istanbulu’nda Mekân Tahayyülleri', History Studies 12:4, August 2020, pp.2199-2218).
An album also from the period of Sultan Mahmud II (r.1808-39) sold at Sotheby London, 15 May 2018, lot 281. Another sold in these Rooms, 7 April 2011, lot 369. Recently, a related 19th century album, with paintings by the Ottoman painter Fenerci Mehmed but painted for an Ottoman audience rather than a Western one, was offered in these Rooms, 1 May 2025, lot 111. A more closely related group of paintings was sold in these Rooms, 30 April 2026, lot 87. So similar were these that they were likely produced in the same workshop as ours, and some of them include the same Ruse & Turners watermarks, made by Joseph Ruse at the Upper Tovil Mill in Kent, England.
Noticeably, a similar-looking Minister of Foreign Affairs ('Reis Effendi') in profile was depicted as part of an album commissioned around 1809 by the English diplomat Stratford Canning (later Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe), now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (D.35-1895, D.23-150-1895). The anonymous artist behind the group is believed by Turkish scholars to have been part of the studio or circle of Konstantin Kapidagli, whose style combined the dense watercolour used by Ottoman artists with European conventions of representation and perspective (Ahmet Yaşar, 'Stratford Canning Albümü: 1809 Istanbulu’nda Mekân Tahayyülleri', History Studies 12:4, August 2020, pp.2199-2218).
An album also from the period of Sultan Mahmud II (r.1808-39) sold at Sotheby London, 15 May 2018, lot 281. Another sold in these Rooms, 7 April 2011, lot 369. Recently, a related 19th century album, with paintings by the Ottoman painter Fenerci Mehmed but painted for an Ottoman audience rather than a Western one, was offered in these Rooms, 1 May 2025, lot 111. A more closely related group of paintings was sold in these Rooms, 30 April 2026, lot 87. So similar were these that they were likely produced in the same workshop as ours, and some of them include the same Ruse & Turners watermarks, made by Joseph Ruse at the Upper Tovil Mill in Kent, England.