Place your mouse over the imageClassification
Arts of the Book: Illustrated Texts, Miniatures
Object name
An Ottoman Official
Geography
Turkey
Period
Ottoman, circa 1650 CE
Dynasty
Ottoman
Materials and technique
Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper
Dimensions
29 x 17.9 cm
Accession number
AKM00217
Description
This portrait depicts a large, grey-bearded gentleman wearing a lilac bulbous-shaped Ottoman turban and a fur-lined, gold-embroidered burnt orange robe. He carries a blue tooled and gilded leather-bound manuscript, perhaps a divan, under his left arm. His grand stance, stern expression, and right hand (which is raised in a pontificating gesture), all suggest this figure is a person of high standing, perhaps a court official. The portrait was once mounted in an album and may date to the reign of the Ottoman sultan Mehmet IV (r. 1648-87 CE).
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