Ottoman dowry procession (1 Ergebnisse)

Ca. 800 x 128 mm, folded. Gouache and ink on paper. The verso stamped with the seal of an unidentified Sultan and a brief printed text in Ottoman Turkish. A wealthy Ottoman wedding: a beautiful folding miniature of a dowry procession, complete with the bride astride her horse and covered by a bright canopy, accompanied to the house of the groom (far left) by her dowry and attendants. In pride of place is the Qur'an, carried open ahead of the bride, as well as the nahil, a traditional ornamental model tree built in a cone shape. The dowry procession was designed to show off the importance of the wedding's hosts, and the bride's clothing and jewellery. The rendering of the clothing and even facial expressions of the figures is minutely executed, and very fine. - A modern version of the dowry display is still practiced today in Turkey, but in the Ottoman era the practice was more elaborate. The marriage depicted here was likely taking place among the high classes, though perhaps does not depict a royal wedding, owing to the relatively few and restrained nahil, which were occasionally large enough to risk property damage when maneuvered through the streets. - A famous Western image of an Ottoman wedding procession is Jean Baptiste Vanmour's "Wedding Procession on the Bosporus", which depicts a similar scene. This miniature, painted by Ottoman artists, shows the dowry presentation through Ottoman eyes. - A few small spots of soiling, not affecting paint; one figure rubbed; gentle folds. In excellent condition, bright and vivid. - With an ownership inscription at the rop right corner of the image in Ottoman Turkish, but likely that of a Greek named Dimitri.…