Portrait of Mehdi Quli Beg
| Reference: | S40261.3 |
| Author | Aegidius II SADELER |
| Year: | 1605 |
| Measures: | 180 x 291 mm |
€900.00
| Reference: | S40261.3 |
| Author | Aegidius II SADELER |
| Year: | 1605 |
| Measures: | 180 x 291 mm |
€900.00
Description
Engraving, 1605, lettered in Persian and Latin, “Mechti Kvli Beg Ennvg Ogly Illvstris D. In Persia Legatvs Regis Persar: Ad Imp: Roman”, (Mehdi Quli Beg, son of Ennug, a famous lord in Persia, ambassador of the King of the Persians to the Roman Emperor), and “S.Caes. Mti.s Sculptor Aegidius Sadeler ad viuum delineauit Cum Privil.S.Cae. Mti.s Anno. Pragae.1605”.
First state before publisher's address.
Good example, printed on contemporary laid paper, applied on collector’s old paper support, trimmed at margins, occasional foxing, otherwise very good condition.
Engraved portrait of Mehdi Quli Beg (d. 1629), ambassador of Shah Abbas I to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, half-length and slightly turned to left, a bird (probably a falcon) perched on his right hand, in oriental dress and wearing a turban.
Zeynal Khan Shamlu, and later, Mehdi Quli Beg, were amongst seven ambassadors sent by Shah 'Abbas to European courts, as part of his attempt to enlist Christian cooperation in confronting the Ottomans with a multi-front threat. The ongoing war in Hungary had led to financial strains, internal revolts and a decline in loyalty of Ottoman troops; to 'Abbas these troubles signalled that the Ottoman adversary had been weakened to the point where his revived Persian army could reclaim the territory lost in the previous war. Zeynal Khan Shamlu departed in mid-1603 and arrived in Prague on 19th July 1604 to much fanfare. He and his party of 30 servants were given an escort of over one thousand men, mounted and on foot. Mehdi Quli Beg arrived later, in December, updating Rudolf on the situation. After endless debate and vacillation, Rudolf elected to begin peace negotiations with the Ottomans. All this meant that the Persian ambassadors were fixtures in Prague until October 1605, and were doubtless regarded as exotic figures (which is obvious from the insistence on using Persian for the prints, which no one in Prague could read and which would have taken some effort to reproduce).
Literature
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Hollstein 275.I
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Aegidius II SADELER (Anversa, 1570 circa - Praga, 1629)
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Aegidius Sadeler or Aegidius Sadeler II (1570–1629) was a Flemish engraver who was principally active at the Prague court of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and his successors. Sadeler was born in Antwerp in the Sadeler family of print dealers and engravers. He was the son of Emmanuel de Sayeleer and the nephew of Aegidius I, Jan I en Raphael Sadeler. He was trained by his uncle Jan I and became a member of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1589. He was active in Munich the next year in 1590, in Rome in 1593, in Naples and then again in Munich in 1594–1597. From 1597 he settled in Prague where he became court engraver for Rudolf II and made engraved portraits of notables and engravings after artworks there, most notably paintings by Bartholomeus Spranger, Roelant Savery, Hans von Aachen, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and sculptures by Giambologna and Adriaen de Vries. His early engravings were mostly faithful copies of works by Albrecht Dürer in the Imperial collection and copies of paintings by notable Italian painters such as Raphael, Tintoretto, Parmigianino, Barocci and Titian or by Northern painters who worked there, such as Paul Bril and Denys Calvaert. In Prague he also engraved portraits of the notables of Rudolf's court, and collaborated with Spranger, Joseph Heintz the Elder, Jacobus Typotius and his friend Anselmus Boece de Boodt (1550-1632), Rudolf II's gemologist and physician. After Rudolf II died he enjoyed the favour and protection of the two succeeding Emperors, Matthias and Ferdinand II. According to Michael Bryan, "He used the graver with a commanding facility, sometimes finishing his plates with surprising neatness, when the subject required it; at other times his burin is broad and bold. His plates are very numerous, representing historical subjects, portraits, landscapes, &c. some of them from his own designs, many of which are much esteemed, particularly his portraits, which are executed in an admirable style. Sadeler died in Prague in 1629. He had many pupils, including Wenzel Hollar and Joachim von Sandrart, who wrote his biography.
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Literature
|
Hollstein 275.I
|
Aegidius II SADELER (Anversa, 1570 circa - Praga, 1629)
|
Aegidius Sadeler or Aegidius Sadeler II (1570–1629) was a Flemish engraver who was principally active at the Prague court of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and his successors. Sadeler was born in Antwerp in the Sadeler family of print dealers and engravers. He was the son of Emmanuel de Sayeleer and the nephew of Aegidius I, Jan I en Raphael Sadeler. He was trained by his uncle Jan I and became a member of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1589. He was active in Munich the next year in 1590, in Rome in 1593, in Naples and then again in Munich in 1594–1597. From 1597 he settled in Prague where he became court engraver for Rudolf II and made engraved portraits of notables and engravings after artworks there, most notably paintings by Bartholomeus Spranger, Roelant Savery, Hans von Aachen, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and sculptures by Giambologna and Adriaen de Vries. His early engravings were mostly faithful copies of works by Albrecht Dürer in the Imperial collection and copies of paintings by notable Italian painters such as Raphael, Tintoretto, Parmigianino, Barocci and Titian or by Northern painters who worked there, such as Paul Bril and Denys Calvaert. In Prague he also engraved portraits of the notables of Rudolf's court, and collaborated with Spranger, Joseph Heintz the Elder, Jacobus Typotius and his friend Anselmus Boece de Boodt (1550-1632), Rudolf II's gemologist and physician. After Rudolf II died he enjoyed the favour and protection of the two succeeding Emperors, Matthias and Ferdinand II. According to Michael Bryan, "He used the graver with a commanding facility, sometimes finishing his plates with surprising neatness, when the subject required it; at other times his burin is broad and bold. His plates are very numerous, representing historical subjects, portraits, landscapes, &c. some of them from his own designs, many of which are much esteemed, particularly his portraits, which are executed in an admirable style. Sadeler died in Prague in 1629. He had many pupils, including Wenzel Hollar and Joachim von Sandrart, who wrote his biography.
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