Mosque of Saint Sophia and the Fountain of the Seraglio, circa 1850
€ 320
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1850
Mapmaker / artist
William Leighton Leitch, after a sketch by Thomas Allom (after); engraved by J. Sands
Publisher
Peter Jackson, late Fisher, Son and Co., London and Paris
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
21 × 27 cm (8.3 × 10.6 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14186-1-18
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
Even age toning. Handling soiling along the bottom, left and right edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the top right corner.
About this sheet
This original antique steel engraving shows Mosque of Saint Sophia and the Fountain of the Seraglio, a plate from the first volume of The Turkish Empire Illustrated, published in London by Peter Jackson about 1850. Hagia Sophia rising behind the great domed fountain of Ahmed the Third at the Seraglio gate, the mosque's buttressed mass and its minarets filling the left of the plate, with townspeople, soldiers and a resting porter grouped across the open square.
The plate comes from The Turkish Empire Illustrated: Constantinople and its Environs, with the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, drawn from nature by Thomas Allom with descriptions by the Reverend Robert Walsh, chaplain to the British embassy at the Ottoman Porte. The sheets were engraved on steel for Fisher, Son and Company in the late eighteen thirties and printed again for this edition by Peter Jackson at the Caxton Press in Angel Street, Saint Martin's le Grand, London, with a Liverpool address at Post Office Place, about 1850. The technique is steel engraving, worked by a named London engraver from Allom's own drawing, and the credit lines are printed in the lower corners of the plate with the publisher's imprint centered beneath. Impressions from this series are uncolored as issued, and this sheet has never been colored later.
This is the most recognizable building in the city, and the composition is unusual in pairing the sixth century church with the eighteenth century fountain in a single prospect. A sheet of this size hangs well in a simple dark frame with a generous off-white mount, and a row of them along a hall or above a stair makes a quiet topographical sequence.
Even age toning. Handling soiling along the bottom, left and right edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the top right corner.
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.
