COSIMO COMIDAS DE CARBOGNANO (Armenian draughtsman,... Lot 41

COSIMO COMIDAS DE CARBOGNANO (Armenian draughtsman, active in the 18th CENTURY) and TEODORO VIERO (Italian engraver, 1740 - 1819) Panoramic view of the new Seraglio, Constantinople, c. 1778 Engraving. Four illustrated leaves and three half leaves with captions. Titled and dedicated: "Veduta del nuovo Serraglio tutta lésattezza da Galata presso dedicata a S.E. il Sig D Guglielmo delle due Sicilie e suo Inviato del Signore presa con L'Ospizio de R.R.P.P. Cappuccini de Ludolf Segretario di S.M il Rè Straordinario alla Porta Ottomana". Height 67 cm, width 196 cm (at sight). (Mottling, folds and small tears). Provenance: property of Touraine. A large panoramic view of Constantinople showing the New Seraglio ca. 1778. By Carbognagno and Viero. Engraving on four illustrated sheets and legend on three half sheets. Related works: - Carbognano, Pair of panoramic views of Constantinople at the end of the 18th century, one from Galata, the other from the Sea of Marmara, pen and black ink (Height 52.5, Width 210.5 and Height 51.5, Width 214.5 cm.), Artcurial sale, Paris, 31 March 2016, No. 77 then Shapero Rare Books, London. - Carbognano, Panoramic View of the New Seraglio, Constantinople, heightened color etching (Height 32, Width 183 cm.), Benaki Museum, Athens, no. 25724. - Carbognano, Panoramic View of the Sultan's Palace, Constantinople, heightened color engraving (dimensions unknown), former von Celsing Collection, Orientalist Museum, Doha (after MacKenzie). - Gudenus, Panoramic View of the City of Constantinople from Seraglio, Paris, c. 1760, heightened color engraving (Height 46, Width 165 cm.), Benaki Museum, Athens, no. 29061. Bibliography: Julian MacKenzie, "Looking East, Looking West, The Ottoman World observed by European Travelers," Shapero Rare Books, London, n.d. With its beautiful size and precise topographical transcription, our engraving is a rare record of the Sublime Porte in the late 18th century. Eighty points of interest in the Topkapi Palace are numbered in the drawing and captioned below, from the most intimate apartments to Hagia Sophia and the mausoleum of Sultan Selim. Although this engraving is derived from the left-hand side of a large ink drawing dedicated after 1794 to the Spanish Prime Minister Godoy, its trade is attested in Venice as early as 1778. However, only one copy has so far been referenced in the Benaki Museum in Athens. An engraved suite of this panorama, from the former Von Celsing collection, is said to be in the Orientalist Museum in Doha. Extension: presentation text "The view from the new Seraglio and the Sublime Porte", available at www.rouillac.com.