A Turkish Princess

Dressed as an upper-class woman of Istanbul, the subject of this work gazes directly at the viewer from under prominent arched eyebrows. She wears a collared red kaftan, the right hem of which is tucked into a low-slung golden belt. The kaftan is loosely fastened at the bust to reveal a low décolletage. A gossamer fabric serves for flaring sleeves and a gold-edged skirt, beneath which appear billowing trousers patterned with floral designs. Her headgear consists of an upward-tapered hotoz sheathed in gold fabric, held in place with a headscarf or sarık edged with gold beads. Her costume is completed with teardrop earrings, gold bracelets, and yellow çedik on posed feet, all signaling high status. She stands on a balcony with European-style balustrades overlooking the Bosphorus from Üsküdar on the Asian side of Istanbul. In the distance, beyond her left hand proper, stands the Maiden’s Tower as it appeared before it was rebuilt in the early 19th century. Directly below her hand, on the Üsküdar shore, can be seen a minaret, a lead-clad dome, and brick buildings which likely represent the Atik Valide mosque-madrasa complex. The painting combines elements from a series of engravings printed in Receuil de divers portraits des principales dames de la Porte du Grand Turc (Paris: Antoine Estienne, 1648).