1 / 8
Photo 1/8 du lotPhoto 2/8 du lotPhoto 3/8 du lotPhoto 4/8 du lotPhoto 5/8 du lotPhoto 6/8 du lotPhoto 7/8 du lotPhoto 8/8 du lot
Me Eric Caudron

35 - TURKEY - MELLING - ISTANBUL - "General view of CONSTANTINOPL…
See original version (French)

Estimate €400 - €600
Sale commission
Description
TURKEY - MELLING - ISTANBUL - "General view of CONSTANTINOPLE, taken from the Boulgourlou Mountain above Scutari". 1819. Etching engraved by PILLEMENT and finished by DUPARC, after Antoine Ignace MELLING (1763-1831). Proof with the letter, on wove paper. Plate from the suite "Voyage pittoresque de Constantinople et des rives du Bosphore d'après les dessins de M. Melling, architecte de l'Empereur Selim III, et dessinateur de la Sultane Hadidge sa sœur". Margins. View of Istanbul from Bulgurlu hill in Üsküdar. In the foreground, two Western European men, one of whom is most likely the author himself, are chatting with Ottomans. 65 x 99 cm. Condition B/C (trace of original vertical median fold, some light foxing and traces of sunstain, rare short marginal tears). Born in Lorraine in 1763, Antoine Ignace Melling was an artist and traveller who trained as an architect and painter. At the age of 19, he travelled to Constantinople as a member of the Russian ambassador's retinue. After completing several commissions for Hatice Sultan, sister of Selim III, including the renovation of her palace at Ortakeï, Melling was appointed architect to the sultan in 1795. This position gave him the privilege of observing the Ottoman court and, during the eighteen years he spent there, he produced numerous detailed drawings of the sultan's palaces, Ottoman society and Constantinople and its surroundings. A year after his return to Paris in 1803, Melling published a prospectus for the "Voyage pittoresque", the first thirteen issues of which were published in 1809. He completed the engravings for this work in 1819.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Works on paper: from ancient to modern, 300 years of history
Auction location
Auction time 06/23/2026 at 1:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like