In pictures: 16th century sultan's portrait sold for $481,000 in London
Newly-discovered 16th/17th-century portrait of Suleyman the Magnificent is seen before it was auctioned at the Sotheby's auction house with the name of "Arts of the Islamic World & India" composed of 183 artifacts in London, United Kingdom on March 29, 2021. PHOTO: AA
A rare 16th-century portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning Ottoman sultan, fetched a hefty £350,000 ($481,000) sale price in an auction on Wednesday in London.
The portrait was on offer for collectors in live bidding at famed auction house Sotheby’s starting at £80,000.
The sale price nearly tripled pre-auction estimates, which predicted the portrait could be sold for as high as £120,000.
The painting was formerly part of a family collection in France since the 19th century.
The painting is a likeness of two 16th century portraits, according to Sotheby’s.
It is associated with a portrait attributed to Cristofano Dell' Altissimo in Florence’s Galleria Degli Uffizi and a smaller portrait of Archduke Ferdinand II exhibited in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum.
The painting “opens a window onto a narrative of artistic exchanges between Venice and the Ottomans in the 1530s,” according to Sotheby’s.
Ottoman velvet work from the “distinguished collection of Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount d’Abernon” was also on auction.