A COLLECTION OF TEN COPPER ENGRAVED PRINTS FROM IGNATIUS MOURADGEA...
A COLLECTION OF TEN COPPER ENGRAVED PRINTS FROM IGNATIUS MOURADGEA D'OHSSON'S 'TABLEAU GÉNÉRAL DE L’EMPIRE OTHOMAN'
Engraved by Gofsard, printed in France, 1787-1790
The collection comprises a carefully selected group of ten large-format engraved plates from, or associated with, Ignatius Mouradgea d’Ohsson’s monumental Tableau Général de l’Empire Othoman, one of the most ambitious illustrated European publications devoted to the institutions, religion, ceremonies, architecture, military culture and social life of the Ottoman Empire; published in Paris in monumental folio format between 1787 and 1820, the work was conceived on an exceptional scale and incorporated an extensive program of engraved illustrations, including large double-page and folding compositions; together, the ten plates encompass the Sürre and Mecca, imperial ceremony, the Sultan and senior officials, naval and provincial authority, religious observance, equestrian culture, dynastic architecture, Constantinople and the Bosphorus, and the diverse social life of the Ottoman world; the plates include:
(plate 36) Chapelle Sépulchrale de la Validé Terkbaun-Sultane, meze de Mohammed IV (Funerary Chapel of Valide Terkhan-Sultan, mother of Mehmed IV): the engraving presents the funerary interior associated with Turhan Sultan, Valide Sultan and mother of Sultan Mehmed IV, its carefully rendered architecture and dynastic tomb structures introduce an important theme absent from the public processions elsewhere in the group: imperial memory, dynastic commemoration and funerary architecture;
(plate 43) Cérémonie religieuse dans l’Arz-Odassy ou Appartment du Trone, la veille des deux fêtes de Beyram (Religious ceremony in the Arz-Odassy, or Throne Room, on the eve of the two Bayram festivals): an important gathering around the Sultan in his primary apartment, which houses his throne on the eve of the feasts of Bayram (Eid), before the departure of the Sürre-i Hümâyun; the Sürre-i Hümâyûn (the imperial pilgrimage caravan) was an annual Ottoman tradition involving the dispatch of money, charity, and lavish gifts from the Sultan in Istanbul to the poor, religious scholars, and local rulers of the Haramayn (the holy cities of Mecca and Medina) (with Library stamp);
(plate 46) Cérémonie de la remise faite au Surré- Éminy du trésor destiné pour la Mecque (Ceremony of the handover to the Sürre-i Hümâyûn of the treasure destined for Mecca): this impressive composition records the formal ceremony surrounding the delivery to the Sürre-i Hümâyûn (the imperial pilgrimage caravan) of the treasury destined for Mecca; the engraving provides a detailed representation of an organized Ottoman imperial ceremony connected with the dispatch of funds and gifts to the Holy Cities and with the Sultan's religious patronage associated with Mecca and the pilgrimage (with Library stamp);
(plate 47) Alaïh ou Marche du Surré- Éminy avec les Chameaux Sacré et le Trésor Destiné pour la Mecque (The Journey of the Surra-i-Humayun with the Sacred Camels and the Treasure Destined for Mecca): an extensive panoramic composition populated by officials, horsemen, attendants and camels, it depicts the procession of the Sürre-i Hümâyûn (the imperial pilgrimage caravan) and the treasury destined for Mecca;
(plate 84) Keaghid-Khané, promenade publique aux environs de Constantinople (Kağıthane, a public promenade near Constantinople): presenting an extensive recreational landscape in the vicinity of Constantinople, animated by architecture, carriages, riders and numerous figures;
(plate 98) La Roméca, danse des femmes Grecques (The Roméca, a dance of Greek women): depicting Greek women dancing in an outdoor gathering, the engraving provides historical evidence concerning costume, dance, gender and the multicultural social environment of the Ottoman capital;
(plate 169) Beschiktasch maison de plaisance du Sultan sur le Bosphore et barques sur ses cadines (Beşiktaş, the Sultan's pleasure house on the Bosphorus, and boats on its docks): records the Bosphorus waterfront, including the Sultan's pleasure residence and boats associated in the original caption with women of the imperial household;
(plate 171) Exercice du Djirid (Jirid excercise): records Ottoman equestrian culture through an animated representation of mounted horsemen participating in the traditional javelin exercise, preserving valuable visual information concerning horses, horsemanship, dress and elite martial recreation;
(plate 172) Présentation au Sultan du Grand Amiral et des Chefs de l’escadre dans un keofchk du Serail (Presentation of the Grand Admiral and the squadron commanders to the Sultan in a kiosk of the Seraglio): records an elaborate court and naval ceremony involving the Sultan, the Grand Admiral and senior commanders of the Ottoman fleet;
(plate 188) Cortège d’un Pascha, Gouverneur de Province (Procession of a Pascha, Governor of the Province): the engraving presents the imposing procession of an Ottoman provincial governor, with his extensive retinue, horsemen and attendants providing a vivid representation of administrative rank and ceremonial authority.
Largest 51cm x 71cm; smallest 32.5cm x 51.5cm
Ignatius Mouradgea d'Ohsson (1740–1807) was an Armenian-Swedish diplomat, historian, and orientalist best known for his monumental encyclopedic work on the Ottoman Empire.
For a similar example:
The Khalili Collections, Acc.10360.
Provenance
Property of a private collector.
Previously in the Dr. M. B. Alwan Collection, United States; acquired together at a local auction in Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1970.
Previously in the Egyptian Royal Library / Royal Court, Egypt — evidenced by the surviving circular Arabic ownership stamp Maktabat Diwan Jalalat al-Malik (مكتبة ديوان جلالة الملك)
The items with Royal Library stamps have been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and come with a confirmation letter.
A COLLECTION OF TEN COPPER ENGRAVED PRINTS FROM IGNATIUS MOURADGEA D'OHSSON'S 'TABLEAU GÉNÉRAL DE L’EMPIRE OTHOMAN'
Engraved by Gofsard, printed in France, 1787-1790
The collection comprises a carefully selected group of ten large-format engraved plates from, or associated with, Ignatius Mouradgea d’Ohsson’s monumental Tableau Général de l’Empire Othoman, one of the most ambitious illustrated European publications devoted to the institutions, religion, ceremonies, architecture, military culture and social life of the Ottoman Empire; published in Paris in monumental folio format between 1787 and 1820, the work was conceived on an exceptional scale and incorporated an extensive program of engraved illustrations, including large double-page and folding compositions; together, the ten plates encompass the Sürre and Mecca, imperial ceremony, the Sultan and senior officials, naval and provincial authority, religious observance, equestrian culture, dynastic architecture, Constantinople and the Bosphorus, and the diverse social life of the Ottoman world; the plates include:
(plate 36) Chapelle Sépulchrale de la Validé Terkbaun-Sultane, meze de Mohammed IV (Funerary Chapel of Valide Terkhan-Sultan, mother of Mehmed IV): the engraving presents the funerary interior associated with Turhan Sultan, Valide Sultan and mother of Sultan Mehmed IV, its carefully rendered architecture and dynastic tomb structures introduce an important theme absent from the public processions elsewhere in the group: imperial memory, dynastic commemoration and funerary architecture;
(plate 43) Cérémonie religieuse dans l’Arz-Odassy ou Appartment du Trone, la veille des deux fêtes de Beyram (Religious ceremony in the Arz-Odassy, or Throne Room, on the eve of the two Bayram festivals): an important gathering around the Sultan in his primary apartment, which houses his throne on the eve of the feasts of Bayram (Eid), before the departure of the Sürre-i Hümâyun; the Sürre-i Hümâyûn (the imperial pilgrimage caravan) was an annual Ottoman tradition involving the dispatch of money, charity, and lavish gifts from the Sultan in Istanbul to the poor, religious scholars, and local rulers of the Haramayn (the holy cities of Mecca and Medina) (with Library stamp);
(plate 46) Cérémonie de la remise faite au Surré- Éminy du trésor destiné pour la Mecque (Ceremony of the handover to the Sürre-i Hümâyûn of the treasure destined for Mecca): this impressive composition records the formal ceremony surrounding the delivery to the Sürre-i Hümâyûn (the imperial pilgrimage caravan) of the treasury destined for Mecca; the engraving provides a detailed representation of an organized Ottoman imperial ceremony connected with the dispatch of funds and gifts to the Holy Cities and with the Sultan's religious patronage associated with Mecca and the pilgrimage (with Library stamp);
(plate 47) Alaïh ou Marche du Surré- Éminy avec les Chameaux Sacré et le Trésor Destiné pour la Mecque (The Journey of the Surra-i-Humayun with the Sacred Camels and the Treasure Destined for Mecca): an extensive panoramic composition populated by officials, horsemen, attendants and camels, it depicts the procession of the Sürre-i Hümâyûn (the imperial pilgrimage caravan) and the treasury destined for Mecca;
(plate 84) Keaghid-Khané, promenade publique aux environs de Constantinople (Kağıthane, a public promenade near Constantinople): presenting an extensive recreational landscape in the vicinity of Constantinople, animated by architecture, carriages, riders and numerous figures;
(plate 98) La Roméca, danse des femmes Grecques (The Roméca, a dance of Greek women): depicting Greek women dancing in an outdoor gathering, the engraving provides historical evidence concerning costume, dance, gender and the multicultural social environment of the Ottoman capital;
(plate 169) Beschiktasch maison de plaisance du Sultan sur le Bosphore et barques sur ses cadines (Beşiktaş, the Sultan's pleasure house on the Bosphorus, and boats on its docks): records the Bosphorus waterfront, including the Sultan's pleasure residence and boats associated in the original caption with women of the imperial household;
(plate 171) Exercice du Djirid (Jirid excercise): records Ottoman equestrian culture through an animated representation of mounted horsemen participating in the traditional javelin exercise, preserving valuable visual information concerning horses, horsemanship, dress and elite martial recreation;
(plate 172) Présentation au Sultan du Grand Amiral et des Chefs de l’escadre dans un keofchk du Serail (Presentation of the Grand Admiral and the squadron commanders to the Sultan in a kiosk of the Seraglio): records an elaborate court and naval ceremony involving the Sultan, the Grand Admiral and senior commanders of the Ottoman fleet;
(plate 188) Cortège d’un Pascha, Gouverneur de Province (Procession of a Pascha, Governor of the Province): the engraving presents the imposing procession of an Ottoman provincial governor, with his extensive retinue, horsemen and attendants providing a vivid representation of administrative rank and ceremonial authority.
Largest 51cm x 71cm; smallest 32.5cm x 51.5cm
Ignatius Mouradgea d'Ohsson (1740–1807) was an Armenian-Swedish diplomat, historian, and orientalist best known for his monumental encyclopedic work on the Ottoman Empire.
For a similar example:
The Khalili Collections, Acc.10360.
Provenance
Property of a private collector.
Previously in the Dr. M. B. Alwan Collection, United States; acquired together at a local auction in Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1970.
Previously in the Egyptian Royal Library / Royal Court, Egypt — evidenced by the surviving circular Arabic ownership stamp Maktabat Diwan Jalalat al-Malik (مكتبة ديوان جلالة الملك)
The items with Royal Library stamps have been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and come with a confirmation letter.
