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The Sultan riding out in procession to Friday Prayers

Anonymous Greek artist

1809

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Orientalism Romanticism Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

The Sultan riding out in procession to Friday Prayers is a 1809 watercolor by Anonymous Greek artist, a Orientalism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

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

About this work

This watercolor shows the Sultan riding out in procession to Friday Prayers. It was painted around 1809 by an unknown Greek artist. The scene captures a key moment in Istanbul’s daily life. Every Friday the Sultan left Topkapi Palace for Friday prayers with his guards close by. His guards wore tall ostrich-feather hats that nearly hid him from view. The painting was part of a set ordered by a British diplomat named Stratford Canning. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum for this work.

The story of this work

Overview

An anonymous Greek artist depicted Sultan Mahmud II emerging from Topkapı Palace on horseback, accompanied by guards and officials in a Friday procession to the Imperial mosque. The work, part of a series commissioned by Stratford Canning, blends Ottoman watercolor techniques with European perspective and composition. The guards, identifiable by their ostrich-feather headdresses, nearly obscure the sultan as he passes through the palace gate. The series was later bound in a volume and acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1895.

Read the full account in the museum source.