Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Pera Museum invites artist Benoît Hamet to reinterpret key pieces from its collections, casting a humourous eye over ‘historical’ events, both imagined and factual. Each month we will witness an episode from the visit of Yusuf Agah Efendi, the first ambassador of the Ottoman State to England. Passing through Austria, Germany, and Belgium, his delegation arrived in England by way of sea in 1793. Ambassador during the reign of the Mad King George III, we imagine just what might have happened during formal occasions as two vastly different cultures met.

This month Hamet’s intricate drawing, inspired by Nicolas de Largillière’s painting, imagines an audience with George III, who wears a funnel on his head instead of a crown. Trying to keep a straight face, the ambassador and his retinue present him with a missive from their Sultan. See if you can spot these influential figures from the period:

– Frederick, Duke of York
– George, Prince of Wales (dressed in ‘Oriental’ costume for the occasion)
– William, Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews
– Prince Ernest Augustus
– Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex
– William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister
– Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Baron Loughborough, Lord Chancellor
– Queen Charlotte
– Princess Charlotte
– Doctor Francis Willis, physician to the King
– Charles James Fox, opposition politician

//Deli Kralın Huzuruna Kabul, Elçi ve maiyeti, 1793 yılında Avusturya, Almanya, Belçika üzerinden deniz yoluyla İngiltere’ye varır. Deli Kral III. George’un tahtta olduğu dönemde elçilik yapan Yusuf Agah’ın peşinde, iki farklı kültürün kaynaştığı resmi etkinliklerde olabilecekleri hayal ediyoruz.

Bu ay Hamet’in Nicolas de Largillière’in tablosundan ilham alarak hazırladığı detaylı çizimde Yusuf Agah Efendi III. George’un huzuruna kabul ediliyor. Başına taç yerine huni takmış olan kralın önünde ciddiyetini korumaya çalışan elçi, Sultan III. Selim’den resmi mektup iletiyor. Dönemin önemli isimlerinin çoğunu Hamet’in çiziminde bulmanız mümkün:

– Frederick, York Dükü
– George, Galler Prensi (tören için ‘Oryantal’ kostüm içerisinde)
– William, Clarence ve St. Andrews Dükü
– Prens Ernest Augustus
– Prens Augustus Frederick, Sussex Dükü
– Genç William Pitt, Başbakan
– Alexander Wedderburn, Baron Loughborough
– Kraliçe Charlotte
– Prenses Charlotte
– Francis Willis, kralın doktoru
– Charles James Fox, muhalefet partisinden politikacı