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Çavusbasi or Chief Usher

Anonymous Greek artist

1809

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Romanesque Romanticism Early 19th Century Portrait

Dominant colour

Çavusbasi or Chief Usher is a 1809 watercolor by Anonymous Greek artist, a Romanesque work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Anonymous Greek artist
When & what style?: 1809 · Romanesque
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This painting is called Çavusbasi or Chief Usher. It's a portrait made by an Anonymous Greek artist. The portrait was part of a series commissioned by Stratford Canning during his time in Turkey. Canning hired a local artist to create this series of views and studies. To learn more about the style and influences behind this portrait, look up the movement: Romanticism.

The story of this work

Overview

This watercolor and bodycolor painting depicts an Ottoman official identified as a chief usher, holding an ornately decorated staff and wearing a green and white turban. The work is part of a series commissioned by Stratford Canning during his diplomatic mission to Istanbul in 1808–09, documenting Ottoman institutions and customs. The artist, likely associated with Konstantin Kapidagli’s circle, blends Ottoman artistic techniques with European perspective. Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1895, the series was originally bound in a volume.

Read the full account in the museum source.