Le Seliktar-Agassi, ou porte èpée du Grand Seigneur, plate 7 from "Recueil de cent estampes représentent differentes nations du Levant"

Art Historical Context

This engraving, plate 7 from the influential 1714–15 volume *Recueil de cent estampes représentant différentes nations du Levant*, portrays the Seliktar-Agassi, or sword-bearer to the Ottoman Sultan. Created after designs by Jean Baptiste Vanmour, who spent years in Constantinople documenting court and everyday life, the print belongs to a landmark series that introduced European audiences to the peoples, costumes, and hierarchies of the Ottoman Empire. Jacques le Hay compiled the volume, while Gérard Jean Baptiste Scotin I translated Vanmour’s paintings into the precise lines of engraving. The subject is an important palace official whose role combined ceremonial and protective duties, symbolized by the sword he carries. Such costume studies were highly popular in early-eighteenth-century Europe, satisfying both scholarly curiosity and a taste for exotic imagery. Rendered with careful attention to fabric folds, embroidery, and posture, the engraving exemplifies how printmaking disseminated detailed visual information across borders long before photography. Today the sheet forms part of the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of works on paper, a reminder of how Western artists and publishers once sought to map the diversity of the Levant through art.

About the Artist

Gérard Jean Baptiste Scotin I|Jacques le Hay|Jean Baptiste Vanmour (Italian|French) · 1591 |1671 –1623 |1716

Italian, Rome (?) 1591/92–1623 Venice|French, 1671–1716