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297 - Commissioned by Sultan Abdülaziz (Ottoman, 1830-1876) Red an…
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Estimate €10,000
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Description
Commissioned by Sultan Abdülaziz (Ottoman, 1830-1876) Red and gold ceremonial amazon saddle for Empress Eugénie, 1869 Silks, leather, bronze, felt, gallons and rope. Set in excellent condition comprising : - Leather saddle covered with silk fabrics with gold background, gold braided with fringes and rose decoration and stylised palmettes, square and rhombus trimmings. - Halter, bronze harness and numerous waves of tassels, gold rope and burgundy and gold silk - in bunches of pompoms. - Saddle cloth in red felt with gold braiding and rose roundels in relief. Label on the saddlecloth: "H. Sedefdjian & Associés, house of superior quality. Constan[tinople]" in Latin and Ottoman characters with a galloping horse and the starry crescent moon of the Ottoman Empire. Height 80 cm, length 100 cm, width 60 cm. Photos and documents from the period are attached. Kept in a modern oak display case decorated with an engraved copper plate: "Given by H.M.M. Abdul-Hamid II Constantinople 12 February 1879". 149 x 112.5 x 79 cm. Provenance: given by His Imperial Majesty Abdüll-Hamid II (Ottoman, 1842-1918), Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam, in 1879 to Mademoiselle Pauline Fournier (1855-1927), daughter of the French Ambassador to the Sublime Porte; by family descent, private collection, Touraine. Ceremonial side saddle belonging to Empress Eugénie commissioned by the Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz, 1869. IMPERIAL DOUBLE SADDLE This saddle and its prestigious harness were commissioned for the second court, known as the Diwan, at the Topkapi Palace in Constantinople. The palace stables were located in the Diwan courtyard. This saddle was used twice by Her Majesty Empress Eugenie during her sumptuous stay in Constantinople from 11 to 19 October 1869, under the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz (1830-1876), whom she had welcomed in Paris two years earlier for the Universal Exhibition. She was on her way to Egypt for the inauguration of the Suez Canal on 17 November, welcomed by the Khedive Ismail Pasha, who had just gained independence from the Sublime Porte. This saddle was made in the workshop of Hovhannes Sedefdjian, an Armenian who probably lived in the Galata or Péra district. At the time, the Armenians of Constantinople dominated many luxury craft guilds, including leather goods, saddlery, jewellery and embroidery, and often supplied the Imperial Court. This amazon-style saddle, for a lady riding sideways, heralded the period of the Tanzimat and the modernisation of the Court, when the women of high society and the imperial harem adopted European equitation, following in the footsteps of the Empress of the French. This amazon saddle was a private gift, ten years later, from the new Sultan Abdüll-Hamid II (1842-1918), who accompanied his uncle Abdülaziz to Paris in 1867, to Pauline Fournier (1855-1927), the daughter of the French ambassador to Constantinople. Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, General Councillor and Senator for Indre et Loire, Hugues Fournier (1821-1898) was French ambassador to Sweden, Italy and the Ottoman Empire between 1877 and 1880. He was involved in the delicate issue of the Treaty of Berlin, which confirmed the independence of the Balkans and placed Constantinople in the position of European bulwark against the Russian Empire. In the red and gold colours of the Empire, this saddle has been kept by the descendants of the young woman, who married on her return to France in 1887. Philippe Rouillac
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About the sale 38th GARDEN PARTY SALE
Auction location
Auction time 06/07/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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