The Seraglio at Constantinople, Engraving after Metz by Angus, circa 1820
€ 285
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1820
Mapmaker / artist
Metz (draftsman), Angus (engraver)
Publisher
Not named on the sheet
Technique
Copper engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14391-35
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Good condition for its age. Toning, a light stain in the upper margin above the image and scattered small spots in the margins. Plate mark visible. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
An original copper engraving of the Seraglio at Constantinople, lettered beneath the image "The Seraglio at Constantinople," with "Metz del." at lower left and "Angus sculp." at lower right, naming the draftsman and the engraver. There is no publisher's imprint.
The view looks across the water to the walls, towers, domes and minarets of the sultan's palace crowded on its point, with a tall conical tower at the right and the sea walls running down to the shore. A sailing ship and small rowing boats move on the water at left, a lighthouse stands far out in the distance, and in the foreground a group of figures in Turkish dress, with turbans, long robes and a shield and lance, stand and sit on the bank beside a large tree and a domed tomb.
The Seraglio, known today as the Topkapı Palace, was the residence and seat of government of the Ottoman sultans from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, set on the promontory where the Bosphorus meets the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara. Its inner courts were closed to outsiders, and European readers knew it chiefly from views taken from the water, like this one.
The credits are probably those of Conrad Martin Metz (1749 to 1827), a German born draftsman long active in London, and William Angus (1752 to 1821), an engraver well known for small topographical plates. The size and lettering are typical of the illustrated geographies and books of travels published in London in the years around 1815 to 1820.
It is an appealing early view of Istanbul for collectors of Ottoman and Levantine subjects, and it frames well in dark wood or gilt.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
