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Janissary at the English Palace Constantinople

Watercolour
1816-1824 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Watercolour drawing

Object details

Category
Object type
TitleJanissary at the English Palace Constantinople (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour over pencil on paper, stuck down on brown card
Brief description
Watercolour, `Janissary at the English Palace Constantinople', after 1822, by William Page
Physical description
Watercolour drawing
Dimensions
  • Height: 37.4cm
  • Width: 26.5cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
  • Inscribed with title on back of mount
  • J WHATMAN TURKEY MILL 1822 (Paper watermarked)
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, Shell International and the Friends of the V&A
Object history
According to Rodney Searight: - [SD720-738] `fr Maggs, June 1967, £100' [+ 3 others, no longer in collection].
Historical context
The Janissary acted as a guard at the British Embassy which at this time was still a large house in Pera. Cf. L. Dupré, Voyage A Athènes Et A Constantinople, Paris, 1825, Pl.XXXIV, Un Janissaire au Palais.
The costume studies SD.720-SD740 seem to divide into two categories; those which are apparently copied from other sources (SD.728,731,733 & 734), and those which are based on on-the-spot observation (SD.720-727, 729, 730, 732, 735-740). Possibly the copies, which seem less developed stylistically, were done before Page visited the Near East. For discussions of the dating and origins of the studies, see J.H. Money, pp.13, 22 and 30; also C.W.J. Eliot, pp.424-5. For details of another set of costume figure studies by Page, some identical to these, see Searight Archive. See also C. de Brockdorff and O. Dalvimart for comparable studies. It has also been suggested (Searight Archive) that Page may well have been influenced by L. Dupré, whom he could have met in Greece or Constantinople, in 1819-20. The two artists are very close in style and format. See L. Dupré, Voyage A Athènes Et A Constantinople, Paris, 1825, in which many images bear comparison with Page.
Only one of Page's costume figure studies (SD.732), seems to have been published (see SP.443A). The artist appears to have worked in two distinct styles: the first during the 1810s and early/mid 1820s, represented here by the costume studies and The Fountain of Babhoumayoun (SD.720-741); the second during the late 1820s and 1830s, represented here by the picturesque landscapes (SD.742-756). Another group of landscapes from the second period, some signed W. Page are in the BM, PD.
Subject depicted
Place depicted
Bibliographic references
  • NACF Review, 1986, p.105
  • Searight, Rodney and Scarce, Jennifer M., A Middle Eastern journey : artists on their travels from the collection of Rodney Searight, Talbot Rice Art Centre, 1980
  • Searight, Rodney. The Middle East : watercolours and drawings by British and foreign artists and travellers, 1750-1900, from the collection of Rodney Searight, Esq. London, 1971
  • Treasures for the Nation : Conserving our Heritage. London, British Museum Publications, 1988
Collection
Accession number
SD.720

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Record createdMarch 14, 2008
Record URL
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