A PAINTING DEPICTING AN EUROPEAN AMBASSADOR IN AUDIENCE WITH THE GRAND VIZIER, SECOND HALF 18TH CENTURY

A PAINTING DEPICTING AN EUROPEAN AMBASSADOR IN AUDIENCE WITH THE GRAND VIZIER, SECOND HALF 18TH CENTURY

Reference: ART3004223

A colorful reception for a not identified European Ambassador in the palace of Grand Vizier in the Topkapi Palace.
Interior with Grand Vizir seated on mat in left corner of room, the Ambassador seated on low stool before him, an interpreter beside him, the room crowded with nobles of the court wearing their ceremonial turbans and gentlemen accompanying the ambassador, and officers and gentlemen of the court standing in background.
Two of the Grand Viziers' servants in right foreground bringing coffee, preserves and perfumes to honor the Ambassador.
There are more similar paintings of reception with Grand Vizier of the European Ambassadors.

Since we do not know which ambassador is depicted on the paining we can narrow it down to the four names below.

  1. Gijsbert Van Dedem
    Squire Frederik Gijsbert van Dedem was the Dutch ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1785 to 1808; first as the envoy of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and for the Batavian Republic from 1795.
  2. Second is the French ambassador Charles Gravier de Vergennes Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes ; 29 December 1719 – 13 February 1787) was a French statesman and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister from 1774 Vergennes rose through the ranks of the diplomatic service during postings in Portugal and Germany before receiving the important post of Envoy to the Ottoman Empire in 1755. While there he being recalled in 1768.
  3. Swedish Ambassador Ulric Celsing, (1731-1805) was a swedish diplomat from the diplomats family. He served in Istanbul as ambassador between 1770-80, and later in Dresden between 1782-87 also in Vienna 1787-89
    1. The British ambassador Henry Granville. He was appointed British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople on 1 May 1761, but did not arrive until 21 February 1762. He was recalled only three years later on 31 May 1765, during the reign of Sultan Mustafa II. He left Turkey to return to England on 13 October 1765. (see Yale University collection)

Painter unknown
With list: 83 by 66 cm.
Painting: 67 by 50 cm.

LITERATURE
Karin Adahl e.a. Minnet av Konstantinopel, Den osmansk-turkiska 1700-tallsammlungen pa Biby, Stockholm 2003, p. 125
De Prins en de Pasja: 400 jaar Nederland Turkije, ed Hüseyin Şen, Mehmet Tütüncü en Hanno de Vries, Nationaal Archief Den Haag 2012, p.122-125.
Zeki Çelikkol, Alexander de Groot and Ben Slot … It began with the Tulip, Türk Tarih Kurumu Ankara 2000 p. 184-185. (4 paintings in Edwina Van heek stichting)
Henk Boom, Frederik Gijsbert van dedem (1743-1820) , Onze Man In Constantinopel, Zwolle Walburg 2012, pp. 152-157 (4 paintings in Edwina Van heek stichting)