Research Catalog

Title

[Album of Turkish costume paintings] [graphic]

Publication

[ca. 1808-1826]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

1 album (85 watercolor drawings); 30 cm.

Summary

The drawings depict Mahmud II, members of the Ottoman court and officers of the Imperial household, from the grand vizir to valet de chambre; costumes of various vendors, merchants, army officers and religious persons; costumes of peasants from the Balkans and other areas of the Ottoman Empire. Plate 40 depicts a Janizary in service to European ministers smoking a long pipe.

Alternative Title

Album of watercolors of Ottoman costume

Subject

• Mahmud II, Sultan of the Turks, 1784-1839
• Clothing & dress > Turkey > 19th century
• Costume > Turkey
• Costume > Albania
• Costume > Armenia
• Costume > Bulgaria
• Costume > Greece
• Costumes > Turkish > 19th century
• Janizaries > Clothing
• Military officers > Turkish > Clothing & dress
• Musicians > Turkey > Clothing
• Peasants > Turkey > Clothing & dress
• Peddlers and peddling > Turkey
• Smoking in art
• Tobacco pipes > Turkey
• Women > Turkey > Clothing & dress
• Turkey > Court and courtiers > Clothing

Genre/Form

• Drawings – Turkey – 19th century.
• Presentation albums – Russia – 19th century.
• Watercolors – Turkey – 19th century.
• Velvet bindings (Bindings) – Russia – 19th century.

Note

• Title supplied from Schmitz.
• Presentation leaf, inscribed to Grand Duke Aleksandr Aleksandrovich, subsequently Alexander III, Emperor of Russia, and 85 watercolor drawings of costumes, each titled in ink in French on the recto with the name of the office held, and on the verso in pencil in Greek, and in ink in Italian.
• Probably executed between 1808 (beginning of the reign of Mahmud II) and 1826 (disbanding of the Janizaries), in Istanbul. Cf. Schmitz.
• Presentation leaf reads: "Ego Imperatorskomu Vysochestvu blagov︠i︡ernomu gosudar︠i︡u Tsesarevichu Velikomu Kn︠i︡az︠i︡u Aleksandru Aleksandrovichu, svoe prinoshenie s glubochaĭshim blagogov︠i︡eniem, posv︠i︡ashchaet Grigoriĭ Sharapenko." Sharapenko's name appears as a signature.
• The drawings are ascribed to Sharapenko in: Collection of rare Russian books ... from the libraries of Maria Feodorovna, Catherine II, Alexander I, II, and III, Nicholas I and II ... (Plaza Book Auction Corp. sales cat., Apr. 12-13, 1934, no. 55).
• Binding: Dark blue velvet, gilt; gilt and blind-stamped frame on both boards, with 4 brass bosses at the corners of blind-stamped frame. Titleand date stamped in gilt on front: Alʹbom. [Ornament] 1867. In contemporary dark blue paper covered clamshell box.
• With the Grand Ducal shelf label on inside front cover and spine of clamshell box. The binding and shelf labels are similar to those in the Slavic and Baltic Division of the New York Public Library, and those in the Russian Imperial Collection of the Library of Congress (cf. Schmitz).

Access (note)

• Restricted access;

Indexed In (note)

• Schmitz, B. Islamic manuscripts in the New York Public Library
• Davis, R.H. A dark mirror: Romanov and Imperial Palace library materials in the holdings of the New York Public Library

Call Number

Arents 96-355

OCLC

NYPG96-F127

Title

[Album of Turkish costume paintings] [graphic]

Imprint

[ca. 1808-1826]

Indexed In:

Schmitz, B. Islamic manuscripts in the New York Public Library, IV.10

Davis, R.H. A dark mirror: Romanov and Imperial Palace library materials in the holdings of the New York Public Library, 40

Restricted Access

Restricted access; Arents Collection; Permit must be requested at the division indicated.

Connect to:

NYPL Digital Collections

Added Author

Alexander III, Emperor of Russia, 1845-1894. Former owner

Sharapenko, Grigoriĭ. Inscriber

Research Call Number

Arents 96-355