Collection online

painting / album

• Object type

  • painting
  • album

• Museum number

  1986,0625,0.1.4

• Description

  Page from an album of watercolour paintings; painting on recto of the Silahdar Aga, swordbearer to the Sultan, and verso blank. Figure wears a high hat with a wide gold band and high red crown with red cloth trailing behind. He has a curling sideburns. His long crimson robe is drawn at the waist with a yellow sash and covered with a sleeveless white ankle-length cloak lined with yellow. He wears heelless yellow shoes and no leggings. He stands on a strip of light green ground and the shadow is cast to the right.
  See 1986,0625,0.1 for description of album.

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• School/style

  • Ottoman School

• Culture/period

  • Ottoman dynasty

• Date

  • 18thC(early)

• Production place

  • Made in: Istanbul
  • (Asia,Turkey,Marmara Region,Istanbul (province),Istanbul (city))

• Materials

  • paper

• Technique

  • painted

• Dimensions

  • Height: 14.7 centimetres (Manuscript)
  • Width: 10 centimetres (Manuscript)
  • Thickness: 3.2 centimetres (Manuscript)
  • Height: 14.7 centimetres (Folio)
  • Width: 9.8 centimetres (Folio)

• Inscriptions

  • • Inscription Type

      inscription

    • Inscription Script

      Latin

    • Inscription Position

      upper right

    • Inscription Language

      French

    • Inscription Content

      Solitaire Aga/il demeure dordin [dedans]/a la chambre du/grand Segneur et/porte son espee av [au]/devant de lvy [lui]

    • Inscription Translation

      Silahdar Aga/he live inside/in the chamber of the/ Sultan and/ carries his sword before him.

    • Inscription Comment

      Each line of the inscription is separated by a band of gold vine scroll on black and an ornament of red dots and lines is at the upper left and lower left corners.

• Curator's comments

  The album consists of depictions of buildings, figures and exotic animals in Istanbul; including scenes of punishment. Several pages inscribed. Many pages marbled, others bearing imprint of missing leaves with découpage (?). Although register says 'stencils', the lack of sharpness, suggestion of oil around the flowers and stalks, and identical design on recto and verso suggest that these pages are offsets, not stencils. Leather binding with sunk, gilded, stamped and tooled decoration. Red leather binding with Chinese cloud bands and decoration in gold and black. Cover design has cloud corners and ogival medallion at centre, flanked above and below by escutcheons. Many pages were removed prior to acquisition.

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• Subjects

  • sultan/sultana
  • official

• Acquisition name

  • Purchased from: Maggs Bros

• Acquisition date

  1986

• Acquisition notes

  funds from Central Reserve

• Department

  Middle East

• Registration number

  1986,0625,0.1.4