A Bit of Naples’ History in Lisbon: the Depiction of the Turkish Envoy Hagi Hussein Effendi in Naples Displayed in the National Palace of Ajuda
Elisabetta Colla
Assistant Professor in the Asian Studies graduate programme, Lisbon University – School of Arts and Humanities
On display at the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda (National Palace of Ajuda) in Lisbon, the canvas Turkish Embassy in Naples, which depicts the Turkish embassy sent to Naples on August 1741, is considered a copy of the painting by Giuseppe Bonito (1707-1789). The other two existing oil on canvases are preserved in Europe: one in Madrid, at the Museo del Prado (Museum) and the other one hanged in the throne room of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples).
The three existing canvases depict ambassador Hagi Hussein Effendi, special envoy of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud I (1730-1754), and his entourage in Naples, where they stayed from 30 August to 18 October 1741. The audience occurred in Naples of the Ottoman ambassador and his retinue by Carlo di Borbone (r. 1734-1759), King of Naples and the Two Sicilies, was so important that this fact was also engraved in other illustrations of the time (i.e. Francesco Sesoni’s one).
These canvases symbolize the zenith of a long-standing process that aimed at formalizing the relations between the European crowns and the Ottoman Empire. This painting represents a retribution for what King Charles (1716-1788) achieved. After the death of D. Luís I (1861-1889), the canvas preserved in Lisbon, which represents a bit of Naples’ history in Lisbon, was inherited by D. Carlos I (1863-1908) and can be still admired in the Ajuda Palace.
Elisabetta Colla. Assistant Professor at the School of Arts and Humanities (Lisbon University). Researcher of the Centre for History of Lisbon and UNIARQ. Actually is PhD candidate in Pre-history and Archaeology at the School of Arts and Humanities (Lisbon University). She holds a PhD in Culture Studies obtained from the Faculty of Human Sciences of the Portuguese Catholic University of Lisbon, a Master’s degree in Asian Studies from the Faculty of Human Sciences of Oporto, a Master’s degree (Laurea) in Oriental Languages and Literatures from “Ca’Foscari”, University of Venice, and a diploma in Chinese Language from the former Beijing Languages Institute. General Secretary of the non-profit association Asia Collections Network – Europe (ACN – Europe), member of EACS (European Association for Chinese Studies) and EAAA (European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology).