G4784: Ismael, Ambassador to Persia at the court of Sultan Suleiman II
PrintsThis black and white print shows the head and upper torso of a man, who facing frontally and looks to the left. He is middle-aged and has a moustache and beard. He wears a shirt decorated with a decorative pattern and closed at his neck with a jeweled pin. A rectangular container covered in gems is tucked into his shirt. He also wears a jacket with a geometric pattern, and a large turban adorned with gems and plumes. There is nothing in the background of the scene, other than the artist’s initials to the right of the man’s turban, and six circles placed at regular intervals along the left and right edges of the scene. Below the image is a tablet containing inscriptions in Arabic and in Latin.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- G4784
- People
-
Melchior Lorck, Danish (Flensburg, Germany 1526 or 1527 - after 1588 Silesia(?))
- Title
- Ismael, Ambassador to Persia at the court of Sultan Suleiman II
- Other Titles
- Former Title: Ismael, Persian Ambassador at Constantinople in 1557
- Classification
- Prints
- Work Type
- Date
- 1562
- Culture
- Danish
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/273606
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Engraving on cream antique laid paper
- Technique
- Engraving
- Dimensions
- sheet: 40.7 × 28 cm (16 × 11 in.)
- Inscriptions and Marks
-
- Signed: signed in plate, middle right: MF/L
- inscription: in plate, bottom: [(pseudo?)-Arabic inscription] VIVA EFFIGIES ILLVST: ISMAELIS, QVEM TECHMAS INVICTISS: PERSARVM REX, ORATOREM REGIIS MVNERIBVS ORNATISS: ANNO CHRISTI 1557. A MAHOMETI AV=/ TEM ORIGINE ANNO 964. CONSTANTINOPOLIN AD SOLDANVM SVLEYMANNVM SELIMI FILIVM, POTENTISS: TVRCARVM IMPERAT: AB=/ LEGAVIT. A MELCHIORE LORICHS FLENSBVRGEN. HOLSATO ANTIQVITATIS STVDIOSISS. DICTO TEMP. IN TVRCIA VERSANTE. GRAPHICE EXPRESSA
State, Edition, Standard Reference Number
- State
- iii/iv
- Standard Reference Number
- Bartsch 15, New Hollstein 28
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gray Collection of Engravings Fund
- Object Number
- G4784
- Division
- European and American Art
- Contact
- am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
Publication History
- Stephan Wolohojian and Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, ed. Stephan Wolohojian, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, 2008), p. 81, repr.
Exhibition History
- From Rhubarb to Rubies: European Travelers to Safavid Iran, 1550-1700, Houghton Library, Cambridge, 05/08/2008 - 08/20/2008
- Imagine Me and You: Dutch and Flemish Encounters with the Islamic World, 1450–1750, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/18/2024 - 08/18/2024
Subjects and Contexts
- Collection Highlights
- Google Art Project
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu