Topkapi Palace Fourth Court, Istanbul after W.H. Bartlett, Engraving, circa 1838

A steel engraving of the Fourth Court of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, the Serai Bournou, after W.H. Bartlett, from The Beauties of the Bosphorus.

Two pavilions on slender columns, one hung with draped awnings, stand beside a domed kiosk with an open arcade, while the domes and a minaret of the palace rise behind. A great plane tree spreads its branches over the buildings, and a few figures in Ottoman dress stand and sit in the open court. The low evening light throws long shadows.

The plate is lettered "W.H. Bartlett" and "S. Bradshaw", with the title "Fourth Court of the Seraï Bournou", captions in French and German, "Quatrième Cour du Serai Bournou" and "Der vierte Hof des Serai Bournou", and the imprint "London, Published for the Proprietors, by Geo. Virtue, 26, Ivy Lane". It comes from The Beauties of the Bosphorus, with text by Julia Pardoe and plates after William Henry Bartlett, published in London by George Virtue in 1838 and 1839.

The Fourth Court was the most private part of the sultan's palace, with pleasure kiosks overlooking the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. Views of the palace interior were rare in Bartlett's day.

An evocative Ottoman subject for a living room or study. The engraved image measures about 12.1 by 18.4 cm (height by width), and the margins around it carry all the original lettering, which is worth keeping visible in the mat.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.