A FIRMAN OF MAHMUD II (R. 1808-39)
<p>OTTOMAN TURKEY, DATED THE LAST DAY OF DHU'L HIJJA AH 1242/25 JULY 1827 AD
</p><p>Ottoman Turkish manuscript on paper, half backed with green silk, with 36ll. in alternating red and black diwani, gold dots, crowned with the tughra of Sultan Mahmud II illuminated with gold floral sprays, flanked by a tree and a pink rose, outer borders of leafy gold spray, some creasing to folio with a small tear at the end of the scroll
58 x 21in. (147.5 x 53.5cm.)
</p><p>This firman confirms the appointment and salary of one Yakovos as the Metropolitan of the island of Agriboz (Euboea or Evia) and its dependencies.
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The illumination of this firman is typical of the style used during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II. Other firmans of his are published in Yusuf Sarinai (dir.), Ottoman Fermans, Ankara, 2003, pp.299-349. Many of those, like ours, employ bold colours in the interstices of the tughra and have bright pink flowers flanking it. A large and impressive firman of Mahmud II recently sold in these Rooms, 27 April 2017, lot 162.
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