Lot 140: f - OSMAN HAMDY BEY TURKISH, 1842-1910

signed and dated Hamdy 75 l.l.

oil on canvas

48 by 39 cm., 19 by 15 1/2 in.

PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR

Acquired by the family of the present owner before 1900; thence by descent

In this painting, Hamdy Bey affords the viewer a glimpse into the magnificently decorated Atik Valide Cami mosque in Uskudar, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus. The building was the last major work of the celebrated Ottoman court architect Sinan (circa 1492-1588), built between 1577 and 1583 for Nur Banu, the then Valide Sultan or Queen Mother, one of the wives of Selim II (1566-74) and the mother of Murad III (1574-95). Among Sinan's other designs were the famous Süleymaniye Mosque in Constantinople (see lot 144) and almost certainly the Great Baths at Bursa (see lot 112).

The prayer hall of the mosque is particularly noteworthy for the very fine Iznik tile panels with paradisal images of flowers and for the magnificent calligraphic frieze in sulus script that runs above the casements, both of which can be seen clearly in the painting. A fully finished work, pentimenti to the left of the seated cleric suggest that the artist considered adding a second figure but then decided against it, perhaps so as not to detract from the sense of open space and atmosphere of quiet meditation.